Get out Jesse, and never come back
by LolliliciousLolly
Summary: My Jesse is cursed. It's all Paul’s fault, so he can’t BLAME me for accidentally killing him. But now we’re stuck in a horrific hell, trying to get life back. What's Paul hiding? I'm against the clock to get Jesse back before it's too late. [Finished]
1. Goodbye

A/N: This is actually my friend's story, not mine. She hasn't got an account yet, and has requested that I put this on mine until we make her one. Please review, and there is a twist coming up, so be warned. Thanks, guys!  
  
DISCLAIMER: Everything you recognize from the Mediator books belongs to Meggin Patricia Cabot, and not to Katie, my friend, or myself, Lauren.  
  
~*~  
  
Hi, my name is Suze. Susannah Simon, to be all posh and everything, but Suze will do fine, trust me. I'm not what you'd call a normal teenage girl. Well, to tell you the truth, I'm nowhere near normal. You see, I can talk and see to the undead. Yes, ghosts. Hey, not like the sixth sense or anything, I mean, they don't look like how they did when they died, the ghosts I mean. I'm what you call a mediator, and I'm supposed to guide the lost souls to their next life, be it heaven, hell, or wherever they are supposed to go next.  
  
I'm serious.  
  
And on top of all that, I had no choice in this matter! I didn't pick to be stuck with this stupid job or anything, I was unlucky enough to be born with it. So I'm stuck with it whether I like it or not.  
  
I'm my mum's greatest disappointment. Not that she knows about the whole "I see dead people" thing. She just thinks I'm slightly unsocial, a bit rebellious at times, who doesn't "yet" have a boyfriend. Ha! If she ever knew about the whole thing, she would totally freak and ship me off to a mental house. I can't blame her, I mean, I'd freak out if I found out my daughter was a nut case. Yeah, so you can see why I don't tell her anything. Or anyone else, if I can help it.  
  
My step-brother Sleepy, a.k.a. Jake already thinks I'm in some sort of gang. 'How else,' he says, 'are you going to explain all those bruises?' And so as much as I object that I don't belong to any mobs, I can't tell him how all these abrasions across my body came to be. Because it's the because of the ghosts that I'm always sneaking out at night. And half the time, much to my chagrin, yes, I do come back all bruised and beaten to a bloody pulp. Well, not exactly. But hey! I've always done worse to the ghost than it has done to me!  
  
Really I have.  
  
Yes, I can't say this to old Sleepy. He wouldn't exactly be like 'Oh, all right then, that's cool,' and walk off. Maybe if I tell him when he's really, really tired. Mmm.  
  
Well, I must tell you, that beyond the whole mediation thing that I got dealt with at birth, beyond all the bruises and insults and attempted murders, there is one perk. Yeah, that'd be the ghost of a hundred and fifty year old guy living in my bedroom. No, let me rephrase that. The ghost of an approximately twenty year old hottie who has lived in my bedroom for a hundred and fifty years, and had no intention of moving out until he was forced to by my principal. Long story, I'll explain later. Let me tell you, it was a very nice surprise to walk into my bedroom when I moved from Brooklyn to sunny California to find it was already occupied by six feet of sizzling, Latino hotness, whom I'm contented to say that I've kissed twice, yes twice, so far, and we are not even going out. Hey, not to say that I go around kissing dead people. I mean, I wouldn't, for any money, kiss a rotten, flesh-eaten corpse. Ew. Cockroaches disgust me less than that, and that IS saying something. Nah, I just go around kissing the one ghost. Actually, he kisses me.  
  
Jesse de Silva is his name. He is, currently, the reason that I'm jumping out of my window every night to go look for him, as he took off when he found me playing tonsil hockey with this other mediator, Paul Slater. Who I might mention, tried to send my Jesse to purgatory, and tried to kill me. Yeah, Paul came into my room not long ago, and kind of forced himself on me, which was really bad timing, because Jesse materialized, (yes, he can materialize and de-materialize, the lucky devil,) and saw Paul sticking his tongue down my throat. I mean, EWWWWWWW! (I still sterilize it daily.) I mean, Jesse was the reason that I was letting Paul do this, you know, trying to a) keep Paul from telling him about his past antics, and my reactions to his past antics, and b) stop Paul from sending Jesse away. Gee, Suze, great job, letting Paul carry on with his past antics where Jesse can see you. Great one. So now, I'm getting ready to go look for him again so I can explain what the hell is going on. I owe that to him at least.  
  
Midnight.  
  
Ah, joy. I jump out the window with extra care, as not to break anything, and land with a hard thud on the concrete, that sends pain up my legs, as it does when you jump onto something hard. I nick Dopey's bike, (my second oldest step-brother,) and pedal to my school, the Mission Academy. I dump the bike over near the gate, and walk inside. This was where he was most likely to be, but then again, he hadn't been here for ages, so I'll see.  
  
Hang on! Who's that?! I squint over to the edge of the water fountain, and there, highlighted by a gentle spectral glow, was the one to whom my heart belonged. I walked over, and put my hand on his shoulder.  
  
'Jesse, I'm sorry-' I began.  
  
He turned sharply, and stood up. Yeah, he was like a head taller? It was a little intimidating. Oh, just a little.  
  
'What are you doing here, Susannah?' he asked coldly, his dark eyes piercing my own. 'Shouldn't you be with your precious Paul?'  
  
'-Jesse, it's so not what you think. Let me explain-'  
  
'No, Susannah, you don't need to. It's perfectly clear to me. I only wish that I had known earlier then I wouldn't have had to have gone through all of this. You do realise, that you hurt me, right?'  
  
Whoa, he was mad. I took a step back from him. 'Jesse, shut up, you don't understand-'  
  
He grabbed my shoulders and shook me slightly. His hands were clasped firmly on my arms, almost painfully. I knew what I had to do though.  
  
I mean, after what Paul said he'd do, I had to. But I was hoping that I could have explained first.  
  
'Yes, Jesse. I just came to say I'm sorry, but this is goodbye,' I said. He let go of my shoulders very suddenly. I felt horrible and corrupt. The sadness in his eyes was contagious, and I felt like fainting at the pain of it.  
  
'Goodbye, then, Susannah,' he said softly. No "querida"? Well, to be expected. Very quickly, he kissed my forehead, and dematerialized.  
  
'I love you, Jesse,' I said, the misery in my heart overwhelming me. I'd lied to protect him, and now I'd probably never see him again. Was this what it would take for him to move on?  
  
I hope not. 


	2. What does it matter!

My legs gave way beneath me, after an exhausting struggle. I collapsed to the spot where Jesse had stood moments before. I was crying again. Four words soared dynamically through my mind.  
  
WHAT HAD I DONE?!  
  
Reality sunk in. I had lost Jesse. I doubted that I'd ever see him again, and even if I did, he wouldn't want to see me, hey? If only I had told him the truth about how I felt, then his would never have happened! But if I had have told him the truth. I wouldn't only be putting him in more danger. Paul would have mediated him. No, exorcised him. Mediation and exorcisms are two very different things. Mediation is forcing them to think what is keeping them here on earth. Exorcism is forcing them to go whether they like it or not! I couldn't bear it for Jesse to be pushed into with or these things unwillingly. But then Paul threatened something alien to me. I don't know what he said, but it sounded really evil. It was another alternative from mediation and exorcism. And I didn't like the sound of it at all. I kept telling myself between sobs that I'd done the only thing I could to save him from a terrible fate. I had hurt him to save him.  
  
I stood up after what seemed like hours. My legs had strange shooting sensations flickering up and down them, and felt as though they would snap beneath me. I was still crying uncontrollably but there was no Jesse to calm me down anymore. No Jesse to wrap his arms around me, pull he into his strong, protective embrace and tell me it was all right.  
  
There never would be a Jesse again.  
  
And it wouldn't ever again be all right.  
  
This brought me to cry even harder, to think that I'd never again see his warm, welcoming smile, his dark, liquidy eyes, or touch those lips with my own again.  
  
I walked out of the front gate, not caring less whether someone saw me. What did it matter? I had just lost the only person I have ever, and could ever love. I had lost my reason to live, and it was gone forever.  
  
I staggered home, the darkness and gloom of the night suffocating me, fog settling wetly on my hair and arms, so I was shivering. I made my way up the path to the front door, no bothering to climb back up through the window, and slammed the door behind me. Hearing such a deafening noise gave me a fleeting, fierce satisfaction.  
  
'Susie!'  
  
I spun and saw my mother clutching a coffee mug at the kitchen table. She was in a night robe, and looking very tired, and startled. 'Where have you been, Susie, it's past midnight-' she went to say more, but saw my face. '.Oh, honey,' she got up, and pulled me into a big bear hug, the kind only mothers can give. 'Oh, honey, what's wrong. Shhhh.' I cried onto her shoulder for a second, but again, the reality of my life sank in. 'WHAT DOESN IT MATTER?' I screamed at her, jerking from her grasp. She fell back a meter, barely keeping herself from falling on her butt. I felt angry. She acted like she knew everything! Like- just because she'd found two men in her life to love her, she didn't have to be all motherly, as if she knew what I was going through. I was panting and crying again, I knew it. 'Susannah!' she gasped, hauling herself up, but I'd bolted to my room. 'Susannah, please.' Mum's yells died behind me as I slammed my door and threw myself onto the bed, crying.  
  
I knew Jesse wouldn't be there after what I had done to him. I mean, who could blame him? I had broken his heart, but he would have been exorcised if I hadn't have followed along with Paul's deal. But then again, I think that having a broken heart is worse than death. I mean, don't I know it? I can't ever take back what I did to him, and I don't think he'd even let me try, after he'd seen me kissing Paul so thoroughly. That's right. Paul kissed me and I kissed him back. I know, I know. you can stop swearing now.  
  
Considering Paul had left me for dead, and had tried to send Jesse away, this was not good. I endangered my pride to save my Jesse to protect him from getting hurt, but I think that I did the worst thing that I could have done to him. I mean, if he had have been exorcised, at least he wouldn't have had to endure a breaking heart. I knew now that he loved me, the same way I'd loved him, and it was killing me to know that I'd caused someone so precious to me so much grief. I sat against the bed head, a river sleeting down from my eyes steadily. I felt so alone.  
  
I mean, I had only agreed to "go out" with Paul so he'd leave Jesse alone, but it looks like I've just got rid of Jesse in my own way, hey? Listen to me, going on about this? It's all my fault. Not Paul's, I mean, he helped, you know, with all the threats, but I could have stopped all this, if only I hadn't have been embarrassed and scared about having unrequited feelings for Jesse. I was too proud to express them, and now look at me?  
  
I am screwed.  
  
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. 


	3. The Hell that they call School

No, don't get excieted, it wasn't Paul or anything. Just my really annoying, concerned mom.  
  
'Susie!' Please let me in and tell me what's wrong. You can talk to me, honey,' but before I could yell "GET LOST," she's allowed herself in. Ha! That just blew the "Mother/Daughter Privacy Policy" we'd agreed to. I glared at her. My world had already been ripped to shreds, and now she wanted me to TALK about it?!  
  
She came to sit on the end of my bed, much to Spike's, Jesse's cat's, fury. He avoided her butt by an inch. I shook my head at her and rolled over. I mean, I was SO not in the mood to have a mother/daughter bonding session. I blinked back tears and smiled at her, trying to avoid suspicion. But inside myself, I was far from smiling.  
  
'Susie, if you're not going to tell me what's wrong, you had better tell me why you just walked in at this early hour of the morning. It's past midnight, for Christ's sake!' she exclaimed, stroking my head. Her cool hand felt so comforting and ticklish in my hair. Oh, it was almost as nice as when Jesse did this.  
  
Used to.  
  
But never again.  
  
And with that, I erupted into tears again.  
  
Mom finally got the message that I was in no condition to talk to her. She left without a word, and a wary glance at me, leaving me to wallow in my despair about what I'd just done to Jesse.  
  
~*~  
  
Two weeks had past, and not a word from Jesse since our incident. I feared the worst, that he'd moved on, or Paul had exorcised him anyway. Oooh, I hoped to the Holy Father that he was all right. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he was killed, especially by that blood-sucker Paul. Except, I didn't call him a blood-sucker, if you know what I mean.  
  
I had spoken to Father Dominic during that time. I kept asking about Jesse but to no avail. Father Dom, very deviously, would change the subject, or be all like, "oh, would you look at the time? To class with you, Susannah." Jesus. . .  
  
As he said this, I completely burst into tears again. Not because I hated being called Susannah, but because the only two people who ever called me Susannah were Father Dom and. . .  
  
. . .and Jesse.  
  
So you can understand that hearing him saying my full name would only serve to upset me, reminding me of how I'd ripped out Jesse's heart and spat on it. Not literally, people. It reminded me of my terrible loss, the loss of my one true love, Hector De Silva, affectionately known as Jesse.  
  
Father Dom, however, wouldn't take pity on me, but would very cruelly send me to class, which only intensified my wails of misery.  
  
~*~  
  
'Hey, Suze.'  
  
My blood ran cold. I knew that this voice belonged to the one and only Prince of freaking Darkness, and I wasn't feeling very friendly towards this certain pig at the moment.  
  
'Get lost, you bastard,' I whispered at him so softly, so sadly, that he looked al most pained. He entwined his fingers in mine, and I made a motion to break them, but he caught my wrist, and pushed my arm back rather brutally. I gasped. I mean, there were one or two kids watching, you wouldn't think he'd do this in public, eh?  
  
But I guess psychopathic maniacs are unpredictable sometimes.  
  
'Paul, stay away from me,' I hissed at him. He stared at my eyes with his own, icy light ones, as if scanning me. I twisted my wrist out of his grasp, and shoved him back, going to run off, but he grabbed my arm to impede my escape. He pulled me into an embrace, which I struggled to get free from. It was unnerving, being pushed against Paul so hard, feeling his heat, knowing his arms were around me, and pressing himself against me. I could see how this would look like we were just displaying shows of open affection, but I sure wasn't feeling all that affectionate.  
  
Murderous was more like it.  
  
'Now, Suze,' he said with amusement. I looked at him with furious, barren eyes.  
  
'Leave me alone, you asshole,' I muttered back.  
  
'Remember our deal about your cowboy friend?' he whispered into my hair.  
  
'Shut up, Paul. Just shut up.'  
  
People who were walking past stopped in interest. Kelly was staring at Paul coldly. She was very slow to forgive, and how he'd dissed her last time would probably be enough to scar her for life. Anyway, they started whispering to each other behind their hands, making all these sly facial expressions that involved a long of tonguing and wiggling of eyebrows. I tensed in fury, in Paul's grasp.  
  
I could imagine what they were saying. 'Slater and Simon are breaking up. They are fighting. Paul has two-timed her, Suze has found someone else.' Take your pick.  
  
I didn't particularly care.  
  
But then Paul was all like, 'Oh, something's happened between you and Jesse, hasn't it?' and he said it all loud and everything! Everyone heard! This sent everyone into move vigorous fits of whispering. I wanted to die, I swear to God. With my hand, I grabbed a piece of his anatomy really hard, (sick I know,) and twisted. His pupils zoomed into tiny, tiny circles of black, and he pushed himself away from me. I stuck my tongue out at him and stalked off.  
  
'Suze! Get back here!' he cried, but not as enthusiastically as usual. I guess he feared for his family jewels now. Ha! Fear he should! Suze Simon can kick ass, but she can kick the front area even better.  
  
~*~  
  
I slumped into my room. Oh, God, I was tired. I was going to go and collapse on my bed, and sleep forever like Sleeping Beauty. Or my older brother Jake. It wasn'r like Jesse would be there to interrogate m eabout my day anymore. I closed my eyes and for a few blissful seconds, I reminisced what we had been like before all of this shit had started. Oh, it had been some of the best days of my life. I wanted nothing more than to have a Suze Snooze, but you know, I kind of forgot all about that when I saw the flickering, spectral shimmer I knew so well.  
  
'WAIT!'  
  
A/N: Does she speak to Jesse? What happens? Only I, Susannah's Secret, know, as long as the real author, Kate. Keep reviewing, because a HUGE twist is coming up. I hope none of you expect it, anyhow.  
  
Luv yaz all! 


	4. Jesse hates me?

The dematerializing flicker froze, and reversed itself. Jesse was coming back! Oh, joy! I could speak to him again. But no. It disappeared. He kept going.  
  
'Jesse!' I yelled, 'Please, oh Jesse, come back! I need to talk to you!'  
  
Nothing.  
  
I was going to cry again. I knew it. Hot liquid stung at the corners of my eyes. I sank down, lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. My heart felt as though it was corroding from the pain. It was bitter and relentless. I could have died from it.  
  
'Yes, Susannah?'  
  
Despite the coldness of his tone, I felt as though I was born again. Ah, he came back to talk to me! I loved him! How I loved him so! And I was going to tell him.  
  
If only he had have given me the chance . . .  
  
I hopped off my bed, practically tripping. But he didn't catch me. Oh, no, he lat me fall flat on my face.  
  
That was not a good sign.  
  
I stared at the unsmiling face of Jesse. 'I'm so sorry,' I began. 'You don't understand, Jesse, if only you knew what I did-'  
  
He cut me short. 'I know what you did, and I know why you did it,' his harsh voice rang clearly in my ears. 'You love Paul. How could I have been so blind? Now, if you don't mind, which I'm sure you don't, I have more important places to be.' He started to dematerialize.  
  
I felt as though I'd just been shot.  
  
'What?!' I gasped. 'No, no, no, Jesse!' I saw a glimmer of what looked like hope in his eyes, but it was too quick to be sure. I had to tell him that I loved him, but why was it so hard? Why did I feel as though my heart was being ripped in half by desperation, and love?  
  
Love, because I loved him with all my heart, and didn't want to lose him.  
  
And desperation because I knew I would lose him if I told him.  
  
Because Paul would exorcise him. Or worse . . .  
  
I opened my mouth rebelliously, ready to confess my affections, but the words seemed to be glued to the insides of my throat, and I choked on them. Jesse was just standing there, looking at me with this look of utter loathing. I guess I can't blame him, seeing as though I stamped on his dream, but I couldn't do anything about that. All I could so was tell him I loved him, and that I was doing him to save him from what sounded like a terrible fate.  
  
But then, before when I had asked him to stay, he did, and so he had to have a reason.  
  
'Well, Susannah?'  
  
I took a deep breath, ready to try again. 'Jesse, I have to tell you something before it's too late.' My hair brushed before my eyes, and I had to flick it out. Usually, Jesse would have been the one to move it, but not anymore. He hated me too much now.  
  
'Hurry up, please, Susannah, I don't have all day.'  
  
'Jesse, I lo-'  
  
But I never got to finish that sentence. Because right there, the door swung open, revealing . . . well, I'm sure you can guess . . .  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
A/N: You guys rule! Thanks for the awesome reviews, and keep coming. Sorry this was SO short. And no, the twist wasn't in this chapter, I am looking for the rest of the HAND WRITTEN story, which I lost, and Kate, my friend, is going to kill me! I will try to find it and get another chappie up soon.  
  
Cyaz, luv uz all.  
  
Lauren. 


	5. What was holding Jesse back

Yeah, I'm sure you intelligent people guessed accurately. Paul stood in the yawning doorway with . . . okay, I wasn't expecting this! Maria De Silva Diego!  
  
'Sorry to interrupt such a touching moment, but I'm here for you, De Silva,' drawled Paul.  
  
'No, Paul! Leave him alone,' I pleaded. That was when Maria lunged at me. Before I had time to swing any punches, she's grabbed by arms. Now, I was taking it as a mortal insult that I couldn't get away from Maria. I mean, last time I checked, I had broken her neck in five seconds flat. But here she was, my arms viciously pulled behind my back. Hang on. Last time I checked, I'd EXORCISED HER!  
  
But then, hadn't she and Diego gone up into the Shadowland, where Paul had been?  
  
He could have easily brought them back . . . Oh God . . .  
  
'I'll- I'll stick to the deal! Please, don't hurt him! ' I shouted, as Maria gave my arms a brutal twist. What was I going to do? Jesse might be exorcised, without knowing how much he meant to me! Oh, no, anything but that!  
  
'I'm a businessman, Suze,' said Paul eloquently, spreading his hands, 'I need proof. A contract, if you will. Are you going to be a good girl? Or will I have to prove to you that I won't tolerate any games?' With that, drew out a knife.  
  
'This isn't just any knife, Suze. It's a Ghost Hunter's knife. It kills instantly. Their existence is erased from history completely, and no one remembers them except the killer. Many say it is worse than any death, mediation or exorcism. And it is, to know that no one will remember you, or ever love you again, is worse than dying. You haven't left your part on the world, or in someone's heart. You never even existed.'  
  
Jesse stepped back, his eyes wide.  
  
Paul raised the knife.  
  
'Wait!' I screamed, my voice very thin, 'You want proof? I'll give you proof, just get this stinking skank off of me?' MY mind was racing in overdrive. Only one thing came to mind, but how would Jesse react? Would he dematerialize, leaving me to Paul's mercy? Most likely . . .  
  
Paul nodded at Maria, and she shoved me into Paul. I chanced a glance at Jesse, shooting him a look that said "don't' take this the wrong way. I so love you, not this idiotic bastard. Please, don't go. Help me, Jesse. I'm doing this for you." But I doubt that he read all of that. Because, by the way that he was glaring at me steadily, he still hated every inch of me.  
  
Isn't my life just a tub of Neapolitan ice cream?  
  
I looked up at Paul. He wasn't sure if it was another one of my tricks. (It was, but I hoped that he didn't know that.) With my right arm, I threw it behind him neck, drawing him down. And I planted a big fat one on his lips.  
  
Oh, it was gross, I swear. Like kissing a dog, which I have seen some people do, tongues and all, (shudder,) but this was way worse.  
  
Because I despised Paul.  
  
More than I thought possible.  
  
More than I knew.  
  
I would have so preferred that this to have been Jesse, but we don't always get what we want, do we? I had to go all and out so Paul would believe me. I caressed the side of his face and all, disgusting myself internally.  
  
Paul got the message, and kissed back.  
  
Hard.  
  
He put his hands around my waist, and all, closing his eyes. Then he started moving his hands up my top! Ah!  
  
'Hey, wait a minute,' I said, pulling back from him. 'We have to make a deal, okay?'  
  
The grin I knew so well returned to his lips, playing along them subtly. His obsession with me was really, really getting out of hand now, if this was any proof.  
  
'I'll go out with you, like, for real, and pretend I like it even, if you leave Jesse alone. I mean, never threaten him again, ever. Even if something happens,' I said, my hands on my hips, (and discretely tucking my top back in.)  
  
He shrugged and nodded. 'Fine,' was all he said. I looked at Jesse, who was just staring at me, appalled.  
  
'Paul, I want to talk to Jesse alone, so I can fill him in with what's going on,' I said to a slightly dazed Paul. Maria threw me a scornful look.  
  
He nodded, and dragged Maria out of my room, shutting the door behind him. Jesse was just standing in front of my window seat, staring at me. It was unnerving! I went and sat on my bed, avoiding Jesse's eyes. I knew that I was in it deep.  
  
'Jesse, I am so-o-o sorry,' I began, giving the "so" multiple syllables. He was still just staring, I noticed, when I glanced at him. I ran my hand over my face, sliding it down my chin in frustration. I seriously wished Paul dead. I know that it is a terrible thing, but the guy has made my life a living hell. Worse, even.  
  
'Are you?' he asked finally,' his voice very full. My eyes welled up.  
  
'I didn't want to tell you anything, because I knew what you would have said!' I cried. 'You would have-'  
  
'What would I have said, Susannah?!' he roared at me, coming right up to me, so that I strained my neck to look up at him. At those intense Latino eyes, that were glaring at me with an alien emotion. I'd never seen it before on Jesse. It was like a mixture of love, hate, deadliness, agony, and like he was going to explode. Seriously. As if, if I said the wrong thing, he'd just go kaboom!  
  
I gulped, and shrank against the bed head. His volume wasn't exactly reassuring.  
  
'You would have been all, "I'm not worth it." That you were dead, and that there was no way we could change that. That I have stop all of this and get on with my life. 'But, oh, Jesse, I can't get on with my life. These ghosts will always find me, always haunt me. Around every corner, there will always be someone sumping their troubles on me, ordering me to tell their loved ones messages. You don't know how much I just wish I could be normal, going to the movies, on going on dates. But it's not, and this will never change. My life is a mess. And not until you came, did I ever think it was going to be all right. 'If I was to ever give up mediation, somehow, some way, there'd be only one thing I'd miss. He's the only person who ever understood me. And I need him more than I'm willing to admit. But now, I see how bloody stupid I've been. Jesse, don't you see? I love you with all my heart, all my soul! I always have! I tried to fight this burning desire, but I couldn't. I fell for you, and now I am paying for it. Because Paul won't leave me alone, and he won't leave you alone because it's you I love.'  
  
I looked at Jesse. I was howling by then. Tears flooded from my eyes, burning with a steady acid on my cheeks. My face must have been screwed up very unattractively. I clapped my hands to my eyes to rid of the tears, as they were blocking my vision. Everything was a watery blur.  
  
That was when I felt my arms being pulled gently down to my sides. Jesse was pulling them down. He wiped my tears away, speaking in soft, soothing Spanish. It wasn't the cold harsh voice that I'd been hearing so often lately, but the way he used to speak in the old days.  
  
'Oh, Querida,' he breathed.  
  
HE CALLED ME QUERIDA! THE WORLD IS RIGHT AGAIN!!!  
  
He drew me into a scared embrace. I was being squashed between his arms and his chest, but you know what? It was the best feeling in the world.  
  
'Oh, Querida, you're right. I'm not worth it.'  
  
'No, Jesse,' I said angrily, pushing him away from me to make sure he understood, 'You are worth all of this! If I have to go through a thousand Pauls, I would.' And I would. Just to see his smiling face, like a blazing sun breaking through with radiant rays on a cloudy day. That was how Jesse's smile made me feel. Like everything was going to be okay.  
  
No matter how much of a lie that was.  
  
'You are worth it. You always have been, and always will be, Jesse,' I stuttered.  
  
'No, I'm NOT!' he yelled. I blinked down my tears. Why was he yelling? This only made me cry harder.  
  
'It's time, Susannah.'  
  
What?  
  
'What'd you say?' I said, stepping back from him. That's what I'd expect a suicidal maniac to say. This was WAY weird.  
  
'I said it's time. I'm going, Susannah. I'm going from this world. I know what's holding me back. I'm never going to leave you, Susannah.'  
  
'What?' I asked desperately, tugging on his pure white shirt. 'What is keeping you here?'  
  
He looked at me, his eyes going all hard again, and his look darkening.  
  
'You.'  
  
A/N: Keep 'em coming, guys! We love you all. If Katie's copied anyone so far, she apologizes, because next up is something we don't think anyone's done. Don't be mad either. Keep reading!!!!! 


	6. Terror in the Shadowland!

From last chapter:  
  
'I said it's time. I'm going, Susannah. I'm going from this world. I know what's holding me back. I'm never going to leave you, Susannah.'  
  
'What?' I asked desperately, tugging on his pure white shirt. 'What is keeping you here?'  
  
He looked at me, his eyes going all hard again, and his look darkening.  
  
'You.'  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
'Come again?'  
  
Seriously, he was freaking me out.  
  
'I'm going, Susannah, and you're coming with me,' he whispered, pulling me towards him by my hands. His grip on them was starting to get a little too firm, you know? I tried to shake them off, but they became tighter! Uh, OWW!!  
  
'Jesse, are you feeling all right?' I asked with a frown. This was a totally pointless question, seeing as, as far as I know, ghosts don't get sick. Then why was he acting this way? Was Paul-  
  
'This has nothing to do with Paul, Susannah,' he said, interrupting my thoughts.  
  
My thoughts.  
  
He could hear what I was thinking! Holy crap!  
  
'Correct,' he said, pulling me toward the window seat, and throwing me down unceremoniously. I probably would have fallen out the open window if I hadn't have caught myself first. Moonlight was flooding in, casting my room in an eerie blue glow that seemed to swallow me. Jesse's face was shadowed by the illumination, and unless the moon's light was playing tricks on my desperate eyes, his expression wasn't very loving. Rather . . . angry and determined, and even dominant.  
  
What was going on?  
  
'Where are you going?' I asked him, my voice wavering, much to my chagrin. His eclipsed eyes seemed to pierce through me, like painful, white-hot metal skewers.  
  
'No, not I, but we,' he said in that husky, sexy voice that he knows will get me to do anything that he wants. Well, not this time!  
  
He muttered something in Spanish, drawing closer to me. He ran a strong hand down the side of my face, the nighttime breeze catching on his billowing top and blowing it open slightly. I drew a panicked breath.  
  
'Speak English, God dammit, Jesse,' I snapped, slapping him away from me, but he twisted my hand, and pulled me up, kind of pushing me against him. Now, usually, I would have enjoyed this immensely, but under the circumstances, I was getting really, REALLY scared.  
  
'Jesse, I don't understand what the hell is wrong with you!' I said, as his breath carried in my loose hair. I was breathing heavily by now. I couldn't help it. He seemed to be relishing from my fear. I whimpered slightly.  
  
He chuckled.  
  
'Do I have to spell it out for you Querida?' he asked with a wry smile.  
  
'Ah, yep, 'cause I have no idea what you're talk-'  
  
He cut me off by placing a single finger on my lips. 'We're going where everyone else goes when they die, but in this unique situation, you are going a little earlier.'  
  
I blinked.  
  
Suddenly, my stomach gave a terrible lurch. It felt as though I was in the center of a slow-motion cyclone. I jammed my eyes shut, and screamed. It was horrifying, I swear to God.  
  
Then it all stopped.  
  
I fell from Jesse's grasp. My eyes were still tightly closed, but around me, the atmosphere was damp, dark, and cold. I shivered as my eyelids flickered open slightly, and I looked at the world around me through my eyelashes.  
  
Where the hell did my bedroom go?!  
  
Around me, smoky grey wisps clung to my skin, and all the hairs along my arms were standing up. I choked on the density of the air, as I was devoured by the intense coldness.  
  
This was the horrific place that had haunted my dreams for nights on end.  
  
I was back in the Shadowland.  
  
~*~  
  
'Uh, Jesse?' I called uncertainly into the heavy dark fog. Then, I saw a dark patch, knowing that Jesse was concealed behind it.  
  
'Yes Querida?' he answered, sounding amused. I scrambled up, looking frantically around me, my breath catching sorely in my guttural throat. Excessive screaming is known to render your throat like this, I hear.  
  
'How did we get here?' I asked in utter disbelief. I mean, seriously, I most certainly hadn't shifted. And this shifting experience had been a lot more unpleasant that all my times.  
  
'Why, I brought you here,' came his reply through the fog. I could no longer see his outline. The bitterness was making my head real woozy, let me tell you.  
  
'Why?'  
  
'Well, you see, Susannah, the only reason I was still on that stupid planet all those years,' he paused, as if recalling the pain of his life- I mean death- 'was because of you.'  
  
'As you've said,' I muttered darkly.  
  
I still didn't know where he was, but his Spanish lilted voice seemed to my swimming all around me, like he was using some creepy microphone. But last time I checked, purgatory had no electricity.  
  
'I've been waiting a long, long time for you to come along,' he drawled. A chill swept over me. 'Why do you think I never wanted to talk about my death? Maria was just what killed me. It was after my murder that the most disturbing things occurred. I never told you about any of this, because I couldn't have Miss Mediator finding about what I planned to do to her, and ruining my plans. The only way I can move on is if you come with me.'  
  
That didn't sound so bad.  
  
'Sorry to tell you on such short notice, but I've had enough of waiting, and I've had it up to here with that bastard Paul.'  
  
Him and me both.  
  
'Wait, what do you mean, sorry to tell me on such short notice?' I asked. 'Like, you're not going to wait for me to die naturally?' I heard his hollow laugh, as waves of grief plunged at me brutally.  
  
'Hardly,' he scoffed. 'You are going to have to say goodbye to your friends and family from a distance, Susannah, because you're never going to see them again. Not in this life, anyhow.'  
  
Oh my God.  
  
Was he saying what I think he was saying? That he's going to KILL ME?!?!  
  
Oh shit, I'm in BIG trouble!  
  
'Any questions, Susannah?' he asked pleasantly from somewhere above me. I looked up, as his voice seemed to echo around the stars overhead. My teeth were chattering slightly, and I drew my top more snugly around me. It didn't make a difference.  
  
'Um, yeah,' I said sarcastically, sound a lot more sarcastic than I actually felt, 'All the other times people/ghosts have tried to off me, why didn't you just let them kill me? Would have saved you a lot of trouble, I expect- AH!'  
  
A hand had firmly clamped on my shoulder, and had whirled my around just then. I must have jumped about a foot in the air, and I saw Jesse laughing at me. Oooh, I was mad . . .  
  
'Ah, Querida,' he said with a knowing smile, 'I thought that you would have figured this out by now. I have to be the one to do it. To kill you,' he breathed in my ear.  
  
How romantic.  
  
'Uh huh? And, may I ask why didn't you kill me earlier? I mean, you've watched me sleep!' I spat at him. His arms moved rapidly around my waist, and kind of grabbed me about four inches below each of my armpits. It would have tickled, if he hadn't have done it so painfully. I gasped, and he kind of shook me, enough to jolt my senses. I choked out a cough.  
  
He was seriously spacking out. I mean, for Christ's sake, he's going to KILL me! After all this time that we've been friends!  
  
He laughed in my face, a laugh that seemed to coil around my heart and jeopardize my sanity. He could still hear what I was thinking.  
  
'Susannah,' he said practically, 'I've been dead for a hundred and fifty years.' He slammed me against one of the doors of the corridor. I moaned in pain. 'I wanted to have some fun in my death, and why do you think I bothered to befriend you? For the purpose of . . . friendship? Ha, I think not.'  
  
He was leaning against me very heavily by then. Oh, the dreadful pain of it was nothing compared to the excruciating pain of knowing that this had all been a game.  
  
A hoax.  
  
A lie.  
  
My Jesse had been a complete lie.  
  
'Jesse, are you drunk or something?' I snarled, trying to push him off of me, but he wasn't about to release me any time soon. Now, despair was starting to captivate me. He wanted me dead, because I was his ticket off of this planet. I was just a pawn, a hostage to fortune, to his next life.  
  
He didn't love me.  
  
Oh.  
  
I guess I was kind of waiting to wake up from this freaky nightmare before that, but now, the reality was really sinking in.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
A/N: I can't believe Kate's doing this to Jesse! Keep reviewing, I'm typing up the other chapter now! 


	7. Death to Miss Mediator

'But Jesse,' I struggled to operate my voice, 'Why did you get like, all pissed when Paul kissed me, if you hate me so much?' I asked him wildly. He had been coiling a strand of my dark brown hair around his fingers. Now he stopped dead.  
  
He opened his mouth to answer, but his words seemed to be frozen, and nothing came out. He stared at me strangely.  
  
I smiled in spite of everything. 'Answer me, Jesse,' I said softly.  
  
Okay, that was when, with a roar of rage, he THREW my to the side! 'Ah!' I cried, as I skidded across the glass-like ground. I looked up, and Jesse stood over me, glowering. I could feel his evil darkness radiating from him.  
  
'I don't have to answer to you,' he said dangerously. What the hell did he just say?! What did that mean? That he DID have feelings for me, and wouldn't say? Curious . . .  
  
'You're wrong,' he said in response to my suspicious thoughts. I looked at him with what must have been utmost fear, and his look softened slightly.  
  
Only slightly.  
  
'Enough of this shit,' he said, hauling me up by my arm. His fingers wrapped around my arm like cold, bony snakes. 'We have wasted enough time, listening to me explaining,' he hissed at me. His eyes had lost the warmth and mystery they had once held.  
  
I'd lost my Jesse.  
  
In all my most private fantasies, I'd always dreamed of the moment where Jesse and I could be together, but you know, Jesse wasn't supposed to kill me, and I was supposed to, like, love him? Yeah, that thudding, wildly beating of my heart whever I so much as looked at Jesse/ It sure as hell wasn't there any more. Nothing. Zero. Zilch!  
  
'Now, I don't have time for your bravery act, hilarious as it is, so please, for the love of God, come quietly,' he said.  
  
'Like hell!' I shouted, kneeing him in the . . . uh, you know where.  
  
He doubled over, and while he was doing so, I closed my eyes hurriedly, and was thinking all, "I'm back in my room. Visualize . . . visualize, Suze, or God help you . . ."  
  
And I was back in my bedroom . . .  
  
~*~  
  
Now, where was my body? WHOA! I'm a ghost! Have I been exorcised? Oh, God, I-  
  
'Ah, God, Paul!' I yelled in fright, as he grabbed my arm.  
  
'Suze?! What's happened to you?!' he asked wildly.  
  
'I don't know,' I groaned. He was looking rapidly from my spectral self to my unconscious body. Jesse, of course, had no unconscious body, as he was but a ghost.  
  
'Suze, are you just unconscious, or are you dead?' he asked.  
  
'I don't KNOW, Paul!' I shouted in frustration, yanking my arm away from his hands. I was very annoyed with all the touchy-feeliness from the guys by now. That was when I noticed something WAY wrong.  
  
Paul was crying.  
  
HAS THE WORLD BEEN COPLETELY SCREWED UP?!  
  
'Paul, for God's sake, I'm all right!' I said. I mean, sure, I was a ghost, but I'd been one before. I just had to get back into my body, and I would be as right as daisies.  
  
I lay down in my own body.  
  
'See Paul?' I said, standing up, showing him that I could function all areas of my body, 'Fine, now, stop crying. You're freaking me-'  
  
OGH!  
  
~*~  
  
"Yeuch."  
  
That's the sound that a knife makes when it's being withdrawn from human flesh.  
  
'Miss me, Susannah?' asked that sadly familiar voice.  
  
I opened my mouth in a silent, woebegone, agonized scream, clutching my chest. It did no good. Blood seeped from below my pressurizing fingers like water from a leaky tap. The blurry world before my eyes shook dangerously. My chest had seized up against the excruciating throbbing in my chest, and I couldn't breath. I staggered and fell back into Jesse's awaiting arms, my face looking lost and terribly pained.  
  
My life was slipping away.  
  
'I thought I told you to come quietly, Susannah,' Jesse said, looking wistful. 'I didn't want to have to do this. See? You've gotten blood on my shirt,' he said, fingering my hair. I could barely speak. This wasn't happening! Jesse's dark, moonlit face flickered in and out of my vision several times.  
  
He stroked an icy, callused thumb down the side of my face, almost lovingly.  
  
I coughed up a dark red liquid and realized that it was also my own blood. Jesse pushed my face against his chest, rubbing my hair affectionately. He was waiting for me to die!  
  
'W-W-(Cough!) Why Jesse?' I sobbed, choking on the blood that was clogging up my throat, so I sounded very phlegmy.  
  
He rolled his eyes, or at least, I think he did. It was getting harder to see what he was doing, as my eyesight was steadily dimming.  
  
Why was he doing this? I loved him! Why?!  
  
'God, Susannah, after I explained it to you up there, I really didn't feel like repeating myself,' he said, kissing me gently on the forehead. I shivered in shock and pain, like I have been known to do when in a trauma. I clung to his hand tightly. . .  
  
'I have to wait for you to die,' he said sorrowfully, grasping his knife in the other hand.  
  
No, not his knife.  
  
The Ghost Hunter's Knife.  
  
'JESSE!' I spluttered, 'You used that! You used that!' I would have been proud at how clear my words were, if it hadn't have been so desperate.  
  
Jesse frowned. 'Used a knife? Why, of co . . .' He trailed off, looking at his knife that was gleaming with silvery red blood, catching dazzlingly in the moonlight. He realized his mistake. My mouth rounded to a tiny O. I was a goner. I remembered what Paul had said about the knife, that it killed instantly, and erased the victim's existence completely from memory. But why wasn't I dead yet?  
  
'You ass hole!' roared Paul, swinging a violent punch at Jesse's face. It collided with a sickening crunch.  
  
Jesse crashed to the floor. Oh, and on top of me, adding to the pain in my chest where the blood was still surging out. Jesse pushed himself back up with muscular arms, his face frighteningly close to mine. It looked a little bruised from Paul's strike. His eyes sunk into mine sharply.  
  
'I'll kill you!' roared Paul, seizing Jesse by the shoulders turning him over, and punching him again. I coughed up more blood, as a two-man battle raged beside me. Paul was really laying into Jesse, who wasn't taking any of this quietly either, but retaliating with brute force also. Both of them looked as likely for death as the other.  
  
Jesse, of course, having an advantage in this area, seeing that he was, you know, dead.  
  
And there I was, my life flooding away.  
  
The pain was too horrible to imagine. Too horrible to endure.  
  
Absolutely unlike my usual tenacious nature, I gave up.  
  
What was there to hold onto, seriously?  
  
'See ya,' was all I said . . . 


	8. Power of the Ghost Hunter's Knife

Okay, one thing that really pisses you off when you try to make a grand departure from the living world is when the Holy Father decides, "Oh, Suze Simon hasn't undergone enough pain to suffice. Send her back as a ghost."  
  
NOOOOOO!  
  
So that was how I ended up back in my bedroom, watching my lost love, and my unwelcome lover battling it out over me. Of course, that my lost love, namely Jesse, didn't love me, but was only using me, and my unwelcome love, a.k.a. Paul, was looking pretty appealing.  
  
But now I was dead for him.  
  
But why wasn't I, like, completely gone? I'd been stabbed with the Ghost Hunter's Knife. I should be erased from history now, except from Jesse's mind.  
  
'STOP IT!' I yelled to the pair of them. Paul, who was lying over Jesse, who was on the floor, had been ready to bury a fist deep into Jesse's face when I shouted that out.  
  
'Suze!' he gasped, rushing to me and grabbing my ghost. He pulled me into a huge bear hug thing. It would have been funny, but it just wasn't, okay? It really should have been Jesse who was cuddling me, and Paul who was trying to kill me. That's how it should have been. I mean, that's how I wanted it to be if anything, (of course, not wanting ANYONE trying to kill me,) but yeah. My life is SO fucked up, hey?  
  
Or death.  
  
'I'm dead Paul,' I said. 'We have to go. He'll kill you, and he's going to take me with him! Run! I'll try dematerializing!'  
  
He jumped out the window faster than the speed of sound, I swear. Then, I tried dematerializing.  
  
But I couldn't do it!  
  
'Well, well, well, looks like Miss Mediator's stuck,' drawled Jesse, advancing on me, casting me in his deadly shadow. I fell back over my dresser, getting tangled in the curtain that was fluttering freely in the night wind. I tried to free myself to avoid Jesse, but I couldn't.  
  
He had me, and oh did he know it.  
  
'Ah, this is unfortunate for you. That's what happens when you are new to ghost-hood. You cannot move through things as easily when you try, just as you cannot lift or move things when you need to. It was very annoying for me when I was killed, but I got used to it.'  
  
Just then, a forgotten character burst in.  
  
~*~  
  
'Maria! Help!' I cried.  
  
Maria took one glance at Jesse, then at me, a went to run back out again, when Jesse grabbed her.  
  
'Hello, Miss Diego,' he said angrily, holding her as she thrashed in his grasp, her hoop skirt jiggling all over the place. I still tried to free myself from the curtains, which I was very inconveniently twisted in, but to no avail.  
  
'Release me, Hector!' she shrilled, kicking at him pathetically, but he just laughed. 'Oh, how I've wanted to do this,' he said, raising the Ghost Hunter's Knife.  
  
'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!' she screeched, her scream piercing the night.  
  
I couldn't look. I couldn't watch Jesse murder someone!  
  
But I sure as hell could hear it.  
  
'Goodbye, sweetheart,' Jesse said, amid Maria's screams, 'I wish you the best of luck in oblivion, I really do. This is pay back for ordering my murder. We could have had something together, Maria. But now, I have Susannah.'  
  
And he stabbed her.  
  
Her screaming was cut short, and there was a huge explosion of fine mist.  
  
She was gone.  
  
Wait, who was she? Huh? What had just happened?  
  
'Now, where was I?' asked Jesse, coming back to stand over me. I squealed, still trying to get out of the curtains, but they seemed to be knotted around me, obstructing all attempts to escape.  
  
'Hello Susannah,' he said, looming over me.  
  
'Oh fuck off, dip shit,' I yelled. I mean, seriously. This was getting really old.  
  
To say he looked shocked was the understatement of the century.  
  
'What was that for, Susannah?' he asked in outrage, his Ghost Buster's Knife clattering to the floor.  
  
'Oh, I wonder, Jesse. You just KILLED ME!' I howled at him. Powered by aggressive adrenaline, I ripped the curtains away from me.  
  
I was MAD!  
  
'Hey, NO ONE KILLS ME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!' I screamed, flying at Jesse. I punched him in the stomach, but being still a weak ghost, it didn't have much affect.  
  
'Oh, this will be fun,' he said with an evil smile. 'Alive, you would have been able to fight me off at any attempts of this, but now, you can barely do a thing, Susannah. And, why not have a little fun before your end?'  
  
What did he mean? Huh?  
  
Let me tell you, I seriously got the message when he threw me onto me bed.  
  
'No! Jesse, don't!' I shrieked.  
  
I knew what was coming . . .  
  
********************************************************  
  
A/N: Sorry these chapters are so short, please forgive! 


	9. Fight or Flight? FLIGHT! Rated R

A/N: This chapter is rated R. Read at your own risk, and don't hold me responsible. Thanks, guys, for the reviews. You never know, Jesse might just change back . . . but then, he might not. We will see, won't we?  
  
**************************************************************************** *****  
  
My eyes went blank in sheer horror. It was one thing to be murdered by the one you loved. But to be raped by the one you loved, well, let's just say I'd rather have another round with the Ghost Hunter's Knife.  
  
Seriously.  
  
'Jesse, please!' I screamed, as he drew nearer to my bed. For the first time in my life, I couldn't move a muscle, due to my intense fear. Jesse's eyes were dark, with no love in them anymore.  
  
He was lost.  
  
I lay on my back, trying to move my legs and jump off the bed, but my acute panic rendered me terrifyingly motionless. My breath was ragged and petrified, and my eyes were killing world records, I tell you.  
  
That's when he pounced on me.  
  
There's no other way to write it. He was just like a vicious jungle cat. And he was lying on top of my weak, ghostly form.  
  
I couldn't breath, not that I needed to, but I was still in the habit. I couldn't blink, couldn't move, couldn't fight back . . .  
  
'Jesse, you don't want to do this,' I assured him in a breathless whisper, as he began, uh . . . unbuttoning my top in rather . . . feral manner.  
  
'How do you know what I want to do?' he asked, sounding very fiery. 'I have been living in this stupid room for a hundred and fifty years, Susannah, and only just recently, you have come. Like I said before, you think I had mere friendship on my mind?' He kissed me rampantly, a way that I'd expect from Paul and Paul alone. But here was Jesse, kissing me on the lips, his kiss fueled with anger and unbridled passion.  
  
Why was it that he was kissing me like this AFTER he, like, murdered me?!  
  
WHY?!?!?!  
  
I sank deeply into the pillows. Oh, how my lips were aching. I was screaming. Screaming louder than I ever had before.  
  
'JESSE! DON'T!' I begged piteously. I know, I'm a wimp, but what would YOU be doing in that situation? Nothing too different, I expect.  
  
'You said you didn't love me!' I shrieked at him. Screaming wasn't an issue anymore, no one could hear me.  
  
I was dead.  
  
'This has nothing to do with affection,' he said icily. I tried to push him off, but he grabbed my hands, trapped them back, making me gasp in pain, and proceeded to kiss me. 'This has nothing to do with you.'  
  
I twisted my face away from him furiously. I was - oh, God! What was he doing?!  
  
Something I care not to go into detail about, let it suffice to say.  
  
I screamed out a cry of panic and misery, twisting my hands desperately to free them, but to no avail.  
  
'Oh, Susannah,' he tutted in a pant.  
  
'Shut up!' I yelled, 'Just stop it, Jesse! Or-'  
  
'Or you'll what?' he asked, thoroughly amused. I knew that I could do precisely zilch. And I was furious. Furious that I was so helpless. Furious that I'd told Paul to run. Furious that Jesse was doing this.  
  
And furious with myself for falling in love with Jesse in the first place . . .  
  
This irrevocable rage seemed to pulse through my very veins, destroying my soul, darkening my world, and killing me. Although, as I reminded myself, I was already dead.  
  
Then, as if powered by my fury, everything in my room began to shake violently. I ripped my hands from Jesse's iron grasp, and literally threw him across the room, so he smashed against the wall.  
  
Then, weak as I was, I leapt from the window, landing painfully on the ground. I could still remember pain, and it seemed even worse, now that I didn't know exactly how much to expect. I ran from my house, with my spectral feet pounding heavily on the concrete. As I ran, flowers were crushed, mailboxes exploded with letters, shop windows shattered, much like my life had when Jesse had stabbed me.  
  
Jesse had stabbed me . . .  
  
He'd stabbed me!  
  
Only then, did the reality hit home. I staggered in my run, and fell sideways into a dark side street, and fell on the road, howling my wretchedness. I had grazed my knee rather badly. There was a disgusting abrasion that was bleeding steadily.  
  
Once again, I was staring at my own bloodshed.  
  
The coldness on the bitumen stung my head, and I felt rain spitting lightly down, passing right through me. It was horrible. I closed my eyes.  
  
'You thought that you could run from me Susannah?'  
  
I jerked up from the concrete rapidly. There, I saw Jesse standing there, with his dark hair blowing east wood from the heavy winds that were starting. He stood tall, with his white top stained from my blood, and his face cracked into an evil smirk, as if to say, "I've already won this game."  
  
I scampered up, backing away, tears still coursing down my face like river rapids.  
  
'You stay away from me,' I whispered softly, retreating a step further.  
  
'Impossible,' he shrugged, drawing closer to me, 'You are the only way that I'm going to get off of this earth, Susannah. Until I really feel like going, I'm going to do whatever I like to you. You should have come quietly, and then none of this would-'  
  
'Shut up, you prick!' I snarled, and turned to run, but, oh so typically, he snatched up my arm, and pulled me right up against him. I mean, RIGHT up.  
  
I struggled, sure I did. It no longer felt safe and warm in his grip. I dug my nails into his hands, trying to get him to leg go, but he was unaffected. Again, I was plunged into despair. I knew what he was going to with me. I knew it, and I was dreading it.  
  
Jesse leant forward to kiss me . . .  
  
. . . Only to stop a centimeter away from my lips, completely frozen! Yeah, as in icy frozen. And let me tell you, it's no picnic having icy arms wrapped around you. In fact, it's WAY sore! The ice bit at my ghostly body, sending me into a relentless shiver. I didn't want to move, in case I snapped Jesse's arms, or something, him being ice. I mean, maybe there was a way that this had all been some mistake? Maybe-  
  
'Suze, are you okay?'  
  
I turned my head, which was a little hard, as Jesse's hand was kind of around the back of my head, his fingers woven messily in my hair. But as far as I could turn, I saw a tiny bit of Paul's face.  
  
'About time,' I said, and before I knew it, hot tears were spilling down my face, with a pleasant contrast to the ice that was entrapping me.  
  
Paul gave me a pained look. 'Oh, Suze,' he said sorrowfully. 'I'm so sorry . . .'  
  
'What did you do,' I sniffled. 'Oh, can you get me out of here? But, you know, don't break him, or anything,' I added sheepishly.  
  
'Why not?' he demanded. 'He tried to-'  
  
'I know, I know, but still . . .' Jesus, those tears were really coming on heavy now. I tried to stop them. I mean, crying in front of Paul? Yeah, not exactly boosting my confidence. He carefully helped me to slide out of Jesse's killer grip, and soon, Paul had me in a crushing, protective embrace. I glanced at Jesse, who was frozen in time, staring at me coldly, a thin layer of ice frosting over his desirable body.  
  
What was wrong with the world? I mean, I didn't want this to be happening.  
  
Hell, I didn't want to be DEAD, let alone have Paul hugging me.  
  
Sigh . . . But sometimes, life/death's a bitch, huh?  
  
Paul was whispering something into my hair. I couldn't hear him properly, I only caught snatches of sentences. 'I've gone too far . . . I'll never forgive myself . . . this time . . . you're dead, Suze . . . I lost control . . . it shouldn't have . . . this way . . .'  
  
'Paul, what did you just say?' I asked, choking on a sob, and looking him in the eye. Paul stared at me with an unreadable look on his tanned face. I backed away from him.  
  
'You did this?' I asked, my voice crackling slightly, but I didn't care. It was finally dawning on me . . . My expression was strange, and beginning to look accusing.  
  
'Suze, of course I didn't-'  
  
'DID YOU MAKE JESSE KILL ME OR NOT?!'  
  
**************************************************************************** ******  
  
A/N: We LOVE you guys! Thanks for the reviews, and you'll just have to wait. We have just had a cool idea, (Lauren and Kate, that is,) so this fanfic may be a little longer than expected, so bear with us. KEEP REVIEWING, YOU RULE!!! 


	10. The Curse of Darkness

Paul opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again.  
  
'Well?' I asked with a definite bite in my tone.  
  
He looked at me innocently, and then pushed my head onto his shoulder, stroking my hair softly. 'Suze, you have to understand, this wasn't supposed to happen. Jesse went too far . . . I went too far-'  
  
'What are you saying, Paul?' I demanded, pulling away from him. 'What have did you do?'  
  
Again, he just stared at me. I began to shiver again, despite the warmth of Paul, but due to what I was realizing. And it wasn't a pretty reality.  
  
'Suze, I'm a shifter-'  
  
'Yeah, I got that,' I snapped, but he held up his hand. I stayed silent. I wanted to hear what he had to say.  
  
'-and as a shifter, I have certain powers, like you. Now, you know that I care for you, right?'  
  
'Unfortunately,' I muttered bitterly, turning away from him, my arms crossed across my chest.  
  
'Well, like it or not, I do. And you also know, that I hate losing. Especially to a stupid ghost. So, I sought out a special shifter curse-'  
  
'A . . . a CURSE?!'  
  
'-yes. It is called the Curse of Darkness. Shifters are entitled to take these curses as they please where I come from-'  
  
'And that would be, oh, HELL?' I stabbed in, but he silenced me again.  
  
'No. Well, I took this curse. The symptoms of the Curse of Darkness are that the victim's soul, which is split into two personalities, the conscience and the evil side, also known as the devil and the angel of a person . . .' He paused. 'Well, this curse causes the conscience to corrode, so that all is left is the dark side. That's all I did to Jesse.'  
  
That's all? THAT'S ALL?!?!  
  
He reckoned that THAT WAS ALL?!  
  
Oh, I was BOILING MAD!  
  
'Paul?' I asked, feeling as though I was going to explode. There was a terrible burning inside of me, and merely containing this rage was painful enough. I felt like I was a volcano, ready to erupt with molten lava. 'That was not all you freaking did, you freaking lunatic. You realize, that, because of you, I AM FREAKING DEAD?!'  
  
Just imagine all those "freaking"s to be replaced with a dirtier word of the same initials.  
  
Paul shook his head. 'Yeah, but he wasn't supposed to kill you!' he said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. 'I did this because I wanted you to hate Jesse! He went too far though-'  
  
'No Paul! You went too far, and I am now DEAD because of you!' I howled in his face, having what must have looked like an Epileptic fit.  
  
'But Suze-' he began, going to hug me again.  
  
'Oh no you don't!' I yelled, jumping back from him. 'You killed me! I don't care if Jesse was holding the knife, you did this! You - you BASTARD!' I ran further down the street, until I reached a dead end. There was a kind of wall that must have been the wall to someone's back yard, but it was too high to climb over, and I still couldn't walk through anything.  
  
I was trapped.  
  
Paul came running after me. I went to punch him, but missed feebly. I mean, seriously, I was really weak. I don't know why, but I was.  
  
'Suze, please,' he said, cornering me. I went to run off, but he caught me around the waist, and slammed me against the brick wall. A wounded gasp escaped me.  
  
'Suze, please! I love you,' he said desperately, and started kissing me against the wall. I kind of flailed powerlessly beneath him.  
  
This dude had just ruined my life.  
  
He had just gotten me killed.  
  
And he still reckoned that he loved me?!  
  
SCREW HIM!  
  
He'd just framed Jesse.  
  
Made me believe that Jesse wanted me dead.  
  
Made me believe that Jesse didn't love me.  
  
SCREW HIM AGAIN!  
  
He was now kissing me.  
  
He had me against a wall, in my powerless, ghostly state-  
  
-That HE put me in!  
  
KILL HIM!  
  
That was when the rage erupted, exploded, spewed out, detonated within me, I don't know how to describe it. I threw back my head, and howled the howl of a thousand life times of pain.  
  
- A howl which, very conveniently, caused the wall to collapse on him.  
  
Also very conveniently, I had now managed to walk through walls. So when it collapsed on top of ME, I was unaffected.  
  
Yeah, only Paul got crushed into a bloody pulp beneath those deadly bricks.  
  
Oh joy, I'd just killed Paul Slater.  
  
Oh, shit, I'd just killed Paul Slater!  
  
It happened in slow motion, really. As I was screaming a scream that I'm sure even the living were chilled by, the wall kind of blasted apart, as if it had a bomb at the base, and crumpled on top of Paul. The chunks of rock crushed him easily.  
  
I looked at the dusty rubble with absolutely no remorse. I mean, seriously, it hadn't been MY fault, right?  
  
Right?  
  
I mean . . .  
  
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, I'M A MURDERER!  
  
My hand clapped to my mouth in distress and astonishment. I'd murdered someone! I began backing away from the debris, shaking my head in denial.  
  
'Nah, that wasn't me, it must have been someone else, I mean, I'm not a murderer, and so what if it was me, he asked for it, I mean, he made Jesse kill me, and almost rape me, and he . . .' I babbled continuously under my breath. If ghosts could faint, I SO would have fainted at the shock of it. But I wasn't alive, wasn't I?  
  
AND I HAD JUST MADE SOMEONE ELSE THAT WAY.  
  
And, how predictable, I burst into noisy tears.  
  
That was, until a chilling voice interrupted me.  
  
'I'm baa-aack . . .'  
  
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A/N: Who is it? Oh, I wonder . . . stay tuned, people, we have a little adventure coming up. I'm just about to think up another chapter, (Lauren, not Katie this time,) so I won't be too long! Thanks for the reviews! 


	11. Trusting Paul?

Tears plummeting from my ethereal cheeks, I whipped around.  
  
I couldn't believe what I was SEEING!  
  
'But- but- but you're-'  
  
'I know, I'm dead,' answered . . . Yep, you got it. The ghost of Paul Slater.  
  
How freaking ironic, hey?  
  
'Suze, I can't believe that you killed me,' said Paul, sounding angry.  
  
I backed away from him. I mean, he was right. I'd just ripped life from his body, and he sure as hell wasn't going to be all too blissful about it, I'm certain.  
  
'It was- it was an accident,' I stammered, my mouth going very dry. Oh, what was he going to do to me now?  
  
'Suze, would you get off it? It's all right, I'm not going to stay like this.'  
  
Uh, repeat?  
  
Paul smirked at my expression. 'Yeah, that's right. I'm a shifter, so I know how to get my life back. I can get yours back . . . uh, and even lover boy's, if you trust me.'  
  
'Oh, no,' I said, turning away from him, 'I'm not falling for that again-'  
  
'What choice do you have?' he asked. I blinked. Damn. He was right there.  
  
I had no choice.  
  
But still, he'd killed me! Well, just about . . .  
  
I voiced this, but he only rolled his eyes. 'Uh, Suze? Hello, I already said I was sorry, and that-'  
  
'UH, HELLO?! SORRY WON'T BRING ME BACK, WILL IT?' I roared at him, but he laughed.  
  
'You'd think that just a second ago, I wasn't telling you how I could bring you back, hey?' he asked dryly, folding his arms. Again, I blinked. This was all too fast for me. He rested an arm on my hand, squeezing it warmly, and said,' So, what do you say? Going to stay haunting this hell hole, or are you coming with me?'  
  
'And Jesse?' I asked, 'Is there any way you can reverse your stupid curse?'  
  
He puzzled for a second. 'Oh, that. Uh, sure, Suze. Sure there is.'  
  
'Why am I not convinced?'  
  
'Well, okay, it hasn't been done before, but I'm a very smart guy. I can figure it out, I'm sure.'  
  
I didn't want to trust him, but hey? What else could I do?  
  
Reluctantly, I went, '. . . okay. But you have to swear that, one: you won't try anything. Two: Jesse will be safe, no matter what he tries to do to you, and three: you aren't tricking me.'  
  
'I wouldn't trick you,' he said. I snorted. 'Well, not at a time like this,' he rectified sheepishly. 'Just forget about everything I've done in the past-'  
  
'Like killing me? Not so easy,' I grumbled. He scowled at me.  
  
'Suze, I said-'  
  
'Oh, just shut the f*** up, and go get Jesse. Make sure he doesn't try to hurt me,' I added. I mean, from what I've heard, rape isn't that pleasant, is it now?  
  
I shivered, and Paul smiled, for a moment, looking incredibly smug, but then just happy.  
  
'Sure.' 


	12. Proposal of Life

Was I right to trust him? Or should I have run again? Well, to defend myself, it was very hard to run, seeing as he wasn't letting go of me much, and I still felt weak after that huge outburst. And, now that Paul was a ghost, I couldn't run through the walls without being pursued.  
  
Paul grabbed my wrist and pulled me over to where Jesse was. His immobile body stood coldly in front of me, his eyes twinkling horribly. Freezing vapour was rising from the ice that encased him.  
  
Something occurred to me. 'Ah, Paul? You're a ghost now. How are you going to un-freeze him?'  
  
He looked at me quickly, his light blue eyes looking puzzled for a moment. My breath was snagged. 'You can, r-r-right?' I faltered.  
  
'Yes, I think so,' he said. 'Shifting powers don't leave entirely after death, it only happens to mediators,' he said, his elegant eyebrows knit. 'But Suze, you'd better back away. It's you that he hates the most here.'  
  
All of a sudden, I felt a rush of blistering fury towards Paul, but restrained myself from acting upon it. I mean, he looked like my only chance. I didn't want to ruin it. So I moved back after he unleashed my hand, and hid behind a dreary grey tree that was dripping with the moisture of the cold night. I could still feel it, regardless of my ghostly state.  
  
I watched as Paul raised his hand in front of Jesse's face, his eyes closed. Then, with an ear-splitting shatter, ice shards flew in all directions, but of course, straight through Paul, who'd already mastered how to allow objects to pass through him. Unfair!  
  
As the frosty splinters fell to the ground and melted, Jesse lunged out at Paul, but Paul dodged just in time, ironically enough. Jesse landed on the ground, where Paul grabbed him by the throat. I clapped my hand to my mouth and flinched when I saw my Jesse groan sharply.  
  
'Where is Susannah?' Jesse snarled, swiping at him, but he held him down strongly. Why wasn't Paul in a weak, helpless state? Why was I so pathetic and feeble? Is there no justice in the world?!  
  
Paul said something to Jesse that I couldn't hear, but only served to make Jesse knock Paul sideways and leap on top of him, beating him lifeless. Or deathless, I don't know. It horrified me to see Jesse attack anyone with such vigour. I mean, I had seen Jesse take on his fair few thugs, but how he seemed to be mutilating Paul was just vile.  
  
So that was when I bound from behind the tree on Jesse's back, beating him with small fists. I know, I KNOW! Not one of my brightest ideas, but hey? I was scared, okay?  
  
Jesse seemed to find this very rewarding. He flew off Paul, and grabbed me instead, dragging me away from Paul's ghost, which wasn't doing too well, despite any experience I thought that he had. But yeah. Jesse's powerful arm went around my neck, and his other around my arms and waist. I coughed.  
  
'Don't you dare,' growled Paul, on his feet, glaring at Jesse with an acid glare. Okay, uh, breathing? Yeah, wasn't so easy with his arm around my windpipe like that. Not, as I'll repeat again, that breathing was an issue as a ghost, but yeah, you get the gist. I was TERRIFIED!  
  
'I'll do whatever I like with her,' Jesse answered, proving this by jerking my neck back slightly. I cried out, and Paul flinched. I heard Jesse laugh hollowly from behind me. 'You go now, Slater. I have nothing to say to you, and you don't want to get hurt any more than what Susannah has evidently already done to you.' He cast an amused look at Paul's corpse, which was under the wreckage of the blasted brick wall. I saw that Paul's dead body was bleeding rather heavily, and so I looked away as tears stung at my eyes. I was a murderer . . .  
  
Just then, Jesse spun me around, and pushed me hard against him, still trapping my arms to my sides, and kind of grabbing my butt, which was a bit embarrassing. Oh, just a BIT.  
  
'No,' said Paul sounding angry. I could no longer see him. In fact, all I could really see was Jesse's chest, which wouldn't have been so unpleasant under different circumstances, if you catch my drift, but no. These were very critical circumstances here. 'Listen, Da Silva. I have a business proposal for you. How would you like to be alive?'  
  
Jesse froze, his eyes glittering. I could feel his hot breath in my hair. His grasp on my relaxed.  
  
'Go on,' he said.  
  
Paul was silent for a moment. Then-  
  
'You can have your life back. So can Suze-'  
  
'No!' said Jesse sharply, and his grip on my body went possessive and hard again. I yelped against him. Great. He wanted me to stay as a ghost?  
  
'She must stay as a ghost,' said Jesse, confirming my worst fears. 'I've had to live as one for one hundred and fifty hears, and now it's her turn.'  
  
That hurt.  
  
Suze, it's okay. It's just the curse talking. Real Jesse wouldn't want you dead, you know that. It's going to be all right, we just have to trust Paul. It' going to be fine.  
  
Ha, too bad I couldn't kid myself.  
  
I heard Paul take a step closer. His footstep crunched on the gravel road. Against Jesse's chest, I felt hot tears stinging behind my eyes, threatening to come gushing out again. I mean, come on. Have a little sympathy. This was a very harsh time for me, being dead and all, and knowing that I was now going to stay that way, because of Jesse.  
  
No! Because of Paul! This is all HIS fault!  
  
'Fair enough,' said Paul lightly.  
  
'What?!' came my muffled protest. I turned my head- not an easy feat- and yelled, 'What the hell? Paul, you're supposed to be helping me!'  
  
Paul stared at me with mordant indifference. 'Well, I have to look out for myself too, Suze.'  
  
I couldn't BELIEVE this! Paul had tricked me! Just when he said he wouldn't!  
  
Jesse seemed top consider all of this. 'Wise decision,' he grunted to Paul, throwing me to the side. I sprawled on the ground with a weak gasp. Once again, I saw Paul twitch uncomfortably, but he remained where he was.  
  
Bastard . . .  
  
Jesse stepped up to Paul, saying, 'How am I to be resurrected?'  
  
Paul answered, 'It is a long procedure, and cannot happen in this world. I suggest you leave Suze here, as she will only slow us down.'  
  
It was then that I realized that Paul WAS trying to help me. He was just doing it very subtly, so that Jesse, in his cursed condition, couldn't detect it.  
  
'No, she is coming,' said Jesse coldly to Paul.  
  
Damn.  
  
While they were talking, I carefully heaved myself up, trying to avoid notice. I began to tiptoe away, when Jesse was like, 'Don't even think about it, Susannah.' He said it all boredly and everything, too. I stopped dead. Well, not me, but my body wouldn't move for some creepy reason.  
  
'What's in this for you?' asked Jesse suspiciously of Paul.  
  
He shrugged. 'Hey, I'm going to get my life back, the one that she robbed me of.' He jerked his head at me. 'And I was wondering if you wanted to come along for the ride.'  
  
Jesse continued to stare at Paul. 'How do I know that you are not lying?' he hissed softly.  
  
Paul rolled his eyes. 'Oh, please, Da Silva,' he said, smirking. 'Now, are we going, or what? I kind of want to get back before too many people see my maimed, rotting corpse under the debris over there, if you know what I mean. I'll be a dead man walking.'  
  
'No problem. Just one thing; how do we get to this place where I am to redeem my life?'  
  
'Oh, the perks of a shifter, we can summon up portals to take us there,' said Paul with a scary smirk on his face. For a second, I saw his eyes flicker with a Hang-in-there-Suze-you're going-to-be-fine look, but it was too quick to decipher.  
  
'I see. Very well,' Jesse said curtly, and came over to get hold of me properly. I thrashed in his grasp, but it did no good. Jesse had a century and a half's experience behind him as a ghost, and was so much stronger than me. I was but four hours old, if that.  
  
I kind of stopped thrashing when Jesse, uh . . . actually, I can't remember what he did. But I know it hurt a lot, and I was thinking, just as my head exploded with pain, "Uh, crud. I'm going to black out now."  
  
And I did. 


	13. Jesse, PLEASE! Rated R

A/N: I am in such a good mood! Thanks for the WONDERFUL reviews. You people rock. You know that, right? I'm also happy because I was made a student councilor today! Also known as a Prefect. (Think of Percy Weasley from Harry Potter) That's right, I'm a goodie two-shoes. But a goodie two-shoes who loves story writing, so here we are.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****  
  
Mmm . . . That was nice . . .  
  
Someone was tickling my back gently. It felt like being brushed by feathers, and was oh so soothing. I gasped quietly, and murmured my pleasure.  
  
'Like that, Susannah?'  
  
'Yeah, Jesse,' I smiled. What a nice sleep that had been-  
  
-WAIT!  
  
It had NOT been a nice sleep! I'd had a horrible nightmare! Or . . . was it real? Was I dead? Was Jesse under a curse? My eyes snapped open rapidly, and I saw Jesse leaning over me. I was lying back on my back on what looked like a king bed, in this weird, red room, with silk and velvet draped around the walls, looking all regal . . . And Jesse was smiling at me. Of course it had been a dream. Jesse loves me, and I love him.  
  
But hang on? I stared at Jesse's eyes. There- there was a foreign glint in them, as he stared at me, as if his thoughts weren't all that pure, if you know what I mean. Then, my mouth fell open as I saw my hand.  
  
Glowing. My hand was glowing.  
  
I was indeed a ghost.  
  
I sat up promptly as if Jesse had just caught fire. A string of dark memories came flooding back painfully. Jesse had murdered me. I was a ghost. He'd tried to rape me. It was Paul's fault. Jesse was under a curse. I had killed Paul. Jesse had caught me again. And he said that I was going to stay as a ghost forever . . .  
  
'Susannah,' he began, but I cut him off.  
  
'Don't you give me that!' I said furiously, jerking away from him further, but as I was on a bed, creeping away from him, sitting at the end, he effortlessly just grabbed my foot and pulled me back. I slid easily back to him, kicking at his hand. Oh, and also, the skirt I was wearing when I died? Well, I kind of died with it, you know. Not a good thing, as it was a leather mini, and it hiked right up when he pulled me. And he so did not need any encouragement! Because at that minute, he pushed me down on the sofa bed, and then he um . . . God, how do I say this PG rated? Touched me where he shouldn't have, suffice it to say.  
  
'Jesse!' I squeaked in outrage and shock, trying to move away from beneath him, but he wasn't yielding at all. My heart was racing, and I was getting very, VERY hot. Beads of sweat were rolling down my forehead. Jesse's dark Latino face lingered millimeters away from mine, and I could feel every breath of his, as his chest was kind of on top of mine, and not if a good way. This was worse than before. I mean, on his last attempt, he was just being SHY compared to this! I screamed, as waves of heat washed over me disturbingly. My breath quickened until they were just pants of desperation.  
  
'Jesse! Get- Get you hands OFF OF ME!' I screamed. I mean, ewww . . . this was SO wrong!  
  
'Suze!'  
  
Paul burst in. I screamed again, and Jesse's head twisted roughly to face Paul. 'Get out, Slater, if you know what's good for you,' he said in a dangerous growl that scared me to death. I was shaking. I mean, seriously, I was petrified of this Jesse. He had murdered me, and proved to possess a terrifyingly alarming, ah, sexual inclination. So there was Jesse, on top of me, doing God knows what, and there was me underneath him, shaking and perspiring and screaming.  
  
Paul gave me a look that said, "I'm so sorry," and left quickly, locking the door behind him.  
  
'NOOOO!' I shrieked in despair. 'Paul, HELP! You bastard! Please!' But my please came out in about four syllables, due to the fact that I was crying so damn hard.  
  
I knew that I was dead, but I still considered my death to be my life until I moved on.  
  
And that was the worst night of my entire life . . .  
  
~*~  
  
It wasn't until dawn that Jesse left me. By then, I saw sobbing hysterically. I had a feeling that I was terribly bruised from, ah, rough movements of Jesse's part. But it was my peace of mind that had been destroyed beyond repair. Jesse had definitely received, uh, sexual satisfaction last night, but I hadn't been at all willing to give it. So he'd forced it from me. And now I was devastated.  
  
As I was mopping up another episode of terrified tears, I glanced around at the room surrounding me. Like I said, it was heavily embellished with draperies of sleek silk and velvet. The bed was a kind size, with crimson quilt covers and huge, gold rimmed pillows. It had a canopy, like my own, but unlike my bed at home, the material hanging from the canopy was silky red, corresponding with the quilt. Large, elaborate carpets spread across the floor, and these little cushion things were all over the place. It was a perfect picture of a king's room. Yeah, because let's face it, it wasn't very feminine. There were no stylish frills, but everything was very mannish and succinct. Shaking, I nibbled at my fingers. I was WAY paranoid, and I had every right to be.  
  
'Suze? Can I speak to you?' asked a voice.  
  
I turned to the door, and there was Paul, poking his head in. Instantly, a blind rage consumed me that seemed to twist my guts, boil my blood and churn my heart as if it had been thrown in a high-speed blender.  
  
'THIS IS ALL YOU FAULT!' I wailed so deafeningly, that several things around the room shook violently.  
  
Paul stared at me determinedly. 'I know,' he said, and was in front of me in five large strides. He pulled me into him, and wrapped his arms around me. It felt so comforting.  
  
'I can't believe you just let him rape me,' I whispered softly, barely audible. I felt so lost and weak, like I would collapse if Paul hadn't been supporting me. He rubbed my back, making soothing noises. I rested my chin on his shoulder, sniffing. Tears leaked out of my eyes, trailing down my face like corrosive acid.  
  
'I can't believe that this could have possibly gone so wrong,' said Paul ruefully. I cuddled against him. Hot as I was, he was providing me with a warmth that had nothing to do with temperature, but rather . . . security. Something I expected from Jesse, not Paul.  
  
Paul's fingers trickled town the side of my chin, tilting it up to face him. I stared desolately into his eyes. They were so light and delicate . . .  
  
'Suze, one way or another, I'll bring you back to life,' Paul vowed.  
  
And he kissed me.  
  
It was much like that day in his room, where he'd said something to catch me off guard, and then he'd kiss me. And it even started out how it did in his room. I kissed him back. However, unlike what happened in his room, I didn't pull away. I didn't even want to. It was almost like I was just pretending that he was actually Jesse inside. How I knew differently, but there was no harm in dreaming, was there?  
  
This kiss, rather than the one in his room, that was passionate and fiery, was soft and gentle. That was until I reached up, and pulled him into a much deeper kiss, one that seemed to transfer an electricity between us. I was very aware of our closeness and alliance, but more of the fact that he was respecting me. I couldn't believe that this was happening, however. I mean, I was kissing Paul, after he had gotten me killed. But then again, after Jesse had raped me, so this was very comforting. I kept reminding myself that Jesse was cursed . . . But it was hard. Rape is one thing that is very hard to forget, and the way Jesse's body had been touching mine, well, that was something that was going to torment me forever.  
  
And beyond.  
  
I broke away from Paul's lips, gasping for air. 'Paul?' I asked. I had to know. 'When, exactly, did you put the curse on Jesse?'  
  
He looked bewildered. 'What are you- Oh, that. Uh . . . just after you told me you wanted a word with Jesse alone. I was all happy, but then realized that you were just bullshitting. I got angry, and shifted to . . . a place, and got the curse.'  
  
My mouth fell open.  
  
'What does a curse look like?' I asked, panting. Hey, we'd kissed a long time; I was still catching my breath, okay? And once again, breathing wasn't necessary as a ghost, but I wasn't used to not breathing.  
  
He stared at me with a frown. 'Well, it's actually just a scroll of paper with incantations on it, swathed in a shadow. Once used, it bursts into flame,' he said, still holding me forcefully by my shoulders.  
  
'And one more thing,' I said breathlessly, 'What is this place?'  
  
'This? This is my place.'  
  
'Huh?'  
  
'Well, we're not on earth anymore. But we're not in purgatory, or whatever you are used to. There's so much more than that,' he said.  
  
'Oh, okay then,' I said, leaning my forehead against his.  
  
And then I kissed him again.  
  
~*~  
  
Okay, I DID NOT go any further than that kiss, guys. After we were quite done, he respectfully left me alone.  
  
And, classically, I burst into tears again.  
  
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A/N: Guys, I'm seriously worried, should I move this up to R? I really don't want to, but if you think I should, I will. *Sighs* Also, Jesse will turn out all right, I swear, so don't' like, hold my at cyber gun point or anything, please! But, will Suze fall for Paul first? You will just have to wait and see! 


	14. Falling into Oblivion

A/N: *Sniffs* Okay, I guess I'll change it, but I just want to say, will you lovely people still review if I do? And another thing, that was the only bad thing, I promise! I'll maintain self control this time, really I will! Please, don't make me change the rating! It's not that bad. Review and promise that you'll still review, or tell me that I should keep it PG 13! I mean, really, I think that 13 year old kids can handle that. I didn't go into any icky bits, and if the readers are younger than thirteen, it's not my fault. They were warned. I'll see if I can change the last chapter a bit, maybe . . . Thanx!!!  
  
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Oh crap . . . I'd just let Paul Slater kiss me!  
  
Funnily enough, that fact had taken a total of half an hour to enter my mind properly. I sat on that velvet bed, gawking into space. I was still seeing terrifying visions of what Jesse had done to me earlier.  
  
Another thing occurred to me: What was my family going to say when they found me dead? Oh, God . . . And what happened if I came back to life somehow, and I was in a coffin! With that thought, I jerked from the bed, and tried to hammer on the door, hoping that Paul would hear me. I still couldn't move through walls, as Jesse knew well, and was relying on me to remain that way. This curse had now fully engulfed him, and I don't think that he had a spark of compassion left. I knew that there was a big possibility that I would stay as a ghost forever, but I wasn't thinking about that. Oh, I'm just so well known for my optimism. What I really needed to was contact Father Dom. If anyone knew what to do, it would be him. The question was . . . how?  
  
'Ah, Querida, nice to see that you're awake.'  
  
I shrank, not bothering to turn around. I felt Jesse's hand smooth over my shoulder and down my arm. I shivered, but determinedly didn't face him.  
  
'Why won't you look at me, Susannah?' he asked, his voice brimmed with mirth and supremacy.  
  
I took a step away from him, but very rapidly, his hand shot out, and he spun me around.  
  
And I saw his eyes.  
  
They were pools of inky blackness.  
  
You know, like off Charmed? The Source's eyes? Yeah, well, like that. My jaw dropped, and I emitted a rather embarrassing squeal. I noticed that his grip was dreadfully tight on my arm.  
  
'Jesse, let go of me, or I swear, I'll materialize out of here,' I said furiously. A complete lie, as I still didn't know how to, but hey, what else was there to do?  
  
He laughed hollowly. It stung at me, because I knew, from that mere laugh, that his soul was completely black. 'No use trying to threaten me, Susannah. This room, as Slater graciously informed me, holds ghosts. They cannot materialize in or out of this room, so it is impossible for you to do so, and impossible to know if you can, as you couldn't have practiced.' Again he laughed, and I recoiled. His laugh seemed to swirl around me like a rope of thorns, constricting sharply, the barbs penetrating my skin. I shivered uncontrollably, despite the warmth of the room. With that, he grabbed each of my shoulders sharply. I got lost in his dark, Latino eyes. They were so malevolent, pitiless and shallow now, no longer spilling with love and warmth. I didn't know this Jesse at all.  
  
'I hate you so much,' I said coldly.  
  
Bad move. In response to that, his powerful hands shot to my neck, and he began to throttle me! I screamed indistinctly, slapping his arms. From the way his skin was touching mine, I could feel his darkness pump into me, and merge with my flowing blood, swimming around my body like a black cloud of toxin. This evil that was entering me was killing me, as if, even though I was a ghost, I was going to die again.  
  
But it was so much worse that death.  
  
Screaming wasn't an option any longer, but the look I was giving him, well, I was sure that it would make him stop this transference of wickedness. It didn't, however. Well, me being quite the little actress, I had an idea, and slumped forward. To my relief, he seemed to think that my apparent unconsciousness was an indication for him to stop. He let me fall to the floor. After about five seconds, I came gasping up for air, coughing. For half of this, no acting was required. I gasped, and glared up at him.  
  
'You were lying, when you said that you needed me to get off this earth, weren't you?' I snarled.  
  
He raised an eyebrow, his wholly black eyes reflecting unemotionally. 'Of course not. That was the truth,' he said.  
  
'Ha, the truth,' I echoed bitterly. 'You know what, Jesse? Nothing's the truth anymore! You're cursed! Did you know that? You have the Curse of Dark- '  
  
And he flared up again. I didn't see him coming. His hands were tensed forcefully around my throat again. I don't know if you've ever been strangled before, but I tell you, it is the worst pain to me, having no breath, and having such unbelievable pressure on your windpipe. 'J-J-chkh! Jesse!' I choked, and phenomenally, I plunged my fist into his chest. I mean, I broke the boundary of ghostly skin even. I don't know what I did, but it felt like I grabbed his heart and twisted it, I was just so powered by my wrath. His eyes zoomed to tiny circles, so the blackness was gone. I drew my hand out with a squeal. He stumbled back.  
  
I clapped my hand to my mouth, backing away quickly. I had just hurt Jesse! How? I was supposed to be all weak. Was he going to be okay?  
  
Well, judging by the huge, furious grunt he let out, he was going to be just dandy, but I didn't really want to stick around. I bolted for the door, and I almost collapsed with the relief to find that it was unlocked. I threw the door open-  
  
WHOOSH!  
  
Icy wind blasted at me from a land of nothingness. Darkness lingered all around, and this wind was almost propelling me back. I looked at the ground, only to find that before me, there was no ground! Nothing there, just wind!  
  
And that was when I tripped.  
  
I screamed the loudest I had in my life, and it was ringing in my head! Just before I fell into oblivion, I grabbed for anything. The edge of the door was the only thing to grab onto. My cold fingers gripped it clammily, and I was still screaming, despite my bruised throat.  
  
But I was slipping.  
  
That was when Jesse came to the door.  
  
'Jesse, help me!' I screamed. The wind carried my fear up to him. Then, my blood ran cold, as he let out an evil chuckle.  
  
'Well, this is certainly very fascinating,' he commented, folding his arms. My fingers were going numb with the force I was using to hold onto my existence. I kicked my legs around helplessly below me. The wind was chilling my body so bitterly . . .  
  
'Please, Jesse!' I shrieked in panic, as my right hand slipped off totally. Only my left decided my fate. I rephrase that, Jesse decided my fate.  
  
And my fate certainly looked pretty definite when he slammed the door on fingers.  
  
'NOOOOOO!' I yelled in pain and horror as I fell. I heard Jesse's laugh ringing in my ears. It was the most painful thing in my whole life. I was descending into an abyss of empty space, and he was laughing at me.  
  
Well, that was when a hand caught mine, just as I thought I was a goner. It monkey-gripped around my wrist, and hauled me up. I fell into the warmth of-  
  
'Oh, Paul,' I whispered quietly, as he wrapped strong, protective arms around me. He intertwined his fingers through my hair, his hot breath brushing my frozen cheeks. I buried myself in him, as heat washed over me.  
  
'What the devil do you think you're doing?' roared Jesse, ripping me from Paul's amorous grasp. I yelped, as he placed a muscular arm around my waist, almost knocking the wind out of me in the process.  
  
'She was about to fall!' Paul objected stubbornly.  
  
'Precisely,' Jesse's eyes glinted madly. Paul's face changed. I knew what he was thinking. How this one Curse had already gotten me killed, and now I was even in danger as a ghost. He looked so guilty. And so he should! It WAS all his fault!  
  
. . . Be that as it may, I'd certainly rather be in HIS arms than Jesse's right now.  
  
Jesse cast me sideways, so I slammed brutally into the wall, sliding down it in pain. Jesse advanced on Paul. 'Is it just me, Slater, or are we forgetting where we stand?' he asked menacingly, grabbing Paul by the scruff of his shirt. Paul, I noticed behind my hands, which I'd put up in front of my face, looked undaunted.  
  
'I know where I stand, Da Silva,' he said calmly, 'I just think you were a little rash tossing Suze-'  
  
'Susannah. You will call her Susannah, Slater-'  
  
'Fine. Tossing Susannah away. She may be useful later on.'  
  
Jesse considered this. 'But, I saw you holding her in your arms. You aren't getting fond of her, I hope?'  
  
Paul laughed flatly. 'Hardly,' he grinned wryly, throwing me a false hostile look.  
  
Jesse was satisfied. 'Well, you will leave me to deal with her-'  
  
Panic flickered across my face. Paul noticed and said, 'Ah, actually, we need to move as fast as we can. I have researched how to activate the portal to our destination at last. So if you want to come now, we can get there quickly, and then you and Susannah can have your lives back, and I-'  
  
'Susannah is staying as a ghost,' blazed Jesse.  
  
Paul nodded hastily, 'My mistake, I keep forgetting,' he said. Jesse sauntered over to me. I hid my face behind lightly curled hands, shivering still. Oh, how I ached. I really wish the after-death condition wore off soon, and I could start acting like a real ghost, free of pain, and able to materialize . . .  
  
Jesse dragged me up by the wrist very brusquely. I wheezed. He twisted both my arms behind my back, and I drew my breath sharply. Paul looked pained.  
  
'Well? Aren't we going?' asked Jesse dryly.  
  
'Oh, right, yeah,' Paul snapped out of his thoughts, and raised his hand so it was eye-level to himself. He murmured a few soft words, and instantly, there was a crackle of light, and a fine, dark red shimmering mist erupted from his bare hand and spiraled around, until it connected and became a solid cloud. It then rippled and glowed a blinding gold. Jesus, even the portal was going with the colour scheme of the room. I wanted to shield my eyes, by my hands were a little preoccupied at the moment.  
  
Then, the golden cloud shimmered, so it was a solid round circle. The edges hardened, and shaped into antique looking rocks, the rim of this doorway adorned by stony dragons and snakes. I gulped, and Jesse held me tighter. My hair brushed into my eyes. Beyond the door frame, was a land that didn't exactly look all that appealing.  
  
'Here's our stop,' Paul said, 'But I'm not sure if it's safe. I don't know how we can test it, though.'  
  
'Allow me,' said Jesse, stepping forward.  
  
And he shoved me through! What a bad ass!!!  
  
Again, I felt myself falling . . . 


	15. Demons

Well, I seriously thought that I was just about to vanish from existence, so when my feet hit solid ground, I was pretty chuffed, you know?  
  
I squatted down, and looked around me. It was like being in the Shadowland, you know. Smoky ribbons corkscrewed around me, and drifted away with a gentle swipe of my hand, their moisture clinging to my skin. I was in this huge round chamber. I was right in the center. Below me, the ground seemed to be glassy and transparent, and sounded like stone on crystal when I walked on it. It was about twenty meters in diameter, I'd say, not that I'm a mathematics buff, but something like that. Eight pillars surrounded me, and in between each pillar, there was a door. Not just ordinary, wooden doors. Nah, these things were huge, ten foot high, heavy-duty iron doors, with all these tricky locks on them. Fog was obscuring my vision slightly, but there was no way you could miss these. There were eight of these, all with different numbers. Jesus, this was WAY worse than the corridor. I mean, at least that went on and on, with a possibility that, at the end of a long run, you might actually fins something. But this, well, it had a prison feel to it, what with the cold grey marble pillars, the glass floor, and the impossibly high roof . . . No, wait, there wasn't a roof. Just galaxies of stars, scattered across the sky. The pillars seemed to go on perpetually.  
  
I stood up straight, and went to the first door, No. 1. I rattled the door knob, but surprise, surprise, it was locked.  
  
'Suze, get away from there!' said Paul angrily, who'd just fallen from the sky, too. He came over, and dragged me back.  
  
'Why?' I tested.  
  
'Because, there's stuff in there that you, uh, don't want to see,' he said, avoiding my gaze.  
  
I crossed my arms. 'Like?'  
  
He looked up at the stars, anywhere but at me. 'I can't say.'  
  
'Oh, did you all have to take a Pact of Secrecy, when you signed up to be demons?' I asked sarcastically. He still avoided my gaze, shifting uncomfortably.  
  
I choked on my own saliva. 'Paul, you're not serious!' I said, faking a little laugh. He looked at me, and his eyes burnt black.  
  
Just like Jesse's had . . .  
  
I stumbled back. 'Please tell me you're joking,' I said. I turned around. I'd rather take my chances through the door than with a Beelzebub incarnation.  
  
However, Jesse thwarted my escape. I turned to see that his own eyes were a brilliant black.  
  
'What ARE you two?' I screamed, as Jesse held my arms tightly.  
  
Paul looked uncomfortable, and was chivalrous enough to make his eyes all normal again, but Jesse was delighting in my alarm. His strong hands seemed to burn my arms. Okay, I was getting tired of this weak act that I was playing. If I couldn't kick someone's ass soon, I was going to go round the twist, all right. Is it possible for ghosts to lose their sanity? I dunno . . .  
  
'We are evil, and that is all you need know,' said Paul, still looking awkward.  
  
'I knew it!' I yelled at him. 'I knew this was just a stupid trick!'  
  
Jesse glared at Paul, as if still unsure whose side he was on, but I saw Paul's face crack into an evil grin. Something told me that . . . this wasn't just acting.  
  
It wasn't a nice feeling.  
  
'Da Silva,' Paul said, talking to Jesse, 'You do realize that in order to get your life back, you've got to go through a whole lot of . . . tasks, if you will. They involve a cool head, nerve, and boldness. I was going to go through them by myself, but you're here now, so you can come with me. For the last time, I strongly suggest that you leave Suze-'  
  
'For the last time, Slater,' spat Jesse mockingly, clinging to me so hard it hurt, 'You are to call her Susannah. She is coming, and don't even try to change my mind.'  
  
'But, she might not survive,' objected Paul unwisely.  
  
Jesse's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his dark aura began to intensify. 'If that is so, then so be it. Slater, I'm warning you, do not cross me.'  
  
Paul shrugged. 'Suit yourself, Ricky Martin.' I snorted, in spite of everything.  
  
'What did you call me?' demanded Jesse.  
  
'Nothing,' said Paul innocently, and his eyes flared black again. He looked around at the doors, and at their numbers. I just stared, and Jesse's hold on me steadily increased.  
  
'Slater, I don't have all day,' snapped Jesse, and I could feel him tense in his frustration.  
  
'Patience, dude,' Paul said casually. I noticed that he was looking intently at the third door. Why? Hang on . . . I squinted hard. There was an inscription under the number! Why hadn't I seen it before? I should have read it before Paul and Jesse had popped up, hey?  
  
Paul was moving around the doors, reading the inscriptions carefully. I waited, and Jesse was slowly growing more angry. I sensed his burning aggravation, his need to kill . . .  
  
'This is the one!' announced Paul, after what seemed like an eternity. He knocked loudly on the seventh door.  
  
That was when a booming voice scared the shit out of me! A rushing wind blew away all the fog, so the circular room was very clear. This voice rang in my ears, triggering a staggering headache. I winced in Jesse's grasp, and he smirked knowingly.  
  
'STATE YOUR NAME, RANK AND BUSINESS HERE,' roared the voice monotonously. I don't know if this makes sense, but it was if there was a strange, lower pitched echo to the voice, like there were two people saying this message at the same time. My head throbbed sorely.  
  
'Paul Slater, Demon Shifter, to see the Keeper of Souls,' Paul said in this deep, and unfortunately, sexy voice.  
  
There was a moment's silence, then a big, 'ENTER, PAUL SLATER.'  
  
The door opened with a thunderous clashing of metal on metal. Through the doorway, tongues of scorching fire were licking at the metal doorframe, making it burn red-hot. Paul turned to Jesse and smirked. 'And that's how it's done, Da Silva,' he said, and stepped casually through the door, the flames instantly swallowing him, but he didn't seem to be harmed. The door slammed shut. I jumped in shock.  
  
Jesse, annoyed at Paul, walked up to the door. The fog had been starting to drift back, when Jesse too, knocked, me carelessly gripped in his right arm. His dark, Latin eyes were in slits of concentration.  
  
The wind blasted at me again. 'STATE YOUR NAME, RANK AND BUSINESS HERE.' My head was sent into fresh spins.  
  
'Hector Da Silva, Demon Spy, to see the Keeper of Souls,' he said, his voice so much sexier than Paul's could ever be. He said his intention to be there rather uncertainly, as if he was just following Paul's lead.  
  
'AND THE GIRL?'  
  
I went to say my name and everything, but Jesse got in first, managing to sufficiently embarrass the hell out of me.  
  
'Susannah Simon, Demon Captive and Common Shifter, to see the Keeper of Souls,' Jesse said, smirking callously at me, and giving me a rough jerk. I flinched sharply. Ha! HIS captive? COMMON shifter? How insulting!  
  
There was a moment's silence.  
  
'ENTER, SUSANNAH SIMON,' was all the voice said. 'HECTOR DA SILVA, YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO GO PAST.'  
  
Ouch, that must have hurt.  
  
The door unlocked, and was yawning at me. The flames beyond danced high and hot. Waves of intense heat smacked my face forcefully.  
  
'What?' he snarled, outraged, 'Why not?'  
  
'BECAUSE YOU NOT PERMITTED TO GO PAST. SUSANNAH SIMON, GO THROUGH THE DOORWAY NOW, PLEASE.'  
  
'This is bullshit!' roared Jesse, jerking me back. 'If I'm not going, she's not going!'  
  
'STATE YOUR RANK AND BUSINESS HERE, HECTOR DA SILVA,' said the voice stridently, with anger. My head was getting really, REALLY out of control now.  
  
'Demon Spy, to see the Keeper or Souls,' Jesse snapped.  
  
There was a moment's pause.  
  
'WE APOLOGISE. THERE SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN SOME CONFUSION. YOU HAVE BEEN PROMOTED, HECTOR DA SILVA.'  
  
Jesse looked pleasantly surprised. 'I have?' he asked.  
  
There was another painful pause. Jesse's black eyes looked pretty thrilled to bits.  
  
'YOU ARE THE NEW DEMON ROYAL ADVISOR, HECTOR DA SILVA. ENTER, SUSANNAH SIMON AND HECTOR DA SILVA.'  
  
'Royal Advisor?' I asked quickly in a panicked voice, 'What's a Royal Advisor, Jesse?'  
  
Judging by his hugely satisfied face, it was something of great magnitude.  
  
'It's way better than Slater,' he informed me, dragging me towards the door. Yeah, he had to drag me, because, really, I did NOT want to go in there! Fire, heat, ugh! Not my thing, you know, because all the heat was collecting as droplets on my skin, making me feel like I was in a sauna, on a really hot day.  
  
'Yeah, but what's so good about it?' I babbled, 'I mean, by the sound of it, being a Demon Spy was a really sweet job. Demon Advisor? That sounds WAY boring.' Of course, I was just trying to talk him out of this. Because I knew, from all the movies I've watched in my lifetime, that an advisor was some-what a second in command. Jesse SO didn't need the encouragement. And since when had he had the time to become all of this since Paul killed him? Unless . . . An awful thought crossed my mind . . . Unless he was a demon before the curse.  
  
Oh my God.  
  
With that, he threw me into the dancing, menacing orange flames.  
  
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A/N: If I've used anyone's idea here, don't flame me, but I need this plot for what's going to happen. Review, or suffer the wrath of . . . me. (Okay, why is that not intimidating?) 


	16. Fiery wrath

A/N: Guys! WARNING!! This is the last chapter that will be in PG 13, and I will leave this here for about four days before changing to R, okay? I have received a few suggestions that the rating should be raised, and I'm obliging, so PLEASE STILL REVIEW! Thanks, me and Katie love youz all!  
  
**************************************************************************** *********  
  
Okay now, when Paul walked through that fire? Hey, just dandy, no problem. Me? Yeah, I unfortunately, was a slightly different story. That fire BURNT! Not, like, how real fire would burn, but just really, really sore. I could feel every inch of my body screaming in protest at the sudden, scorching, blistering orange inferno that was sliding up my legs, but not quite charring my skin, or anything. I seemed to be physically protected, just not from the pain. In my panting, something that I had desperately been trying to do, more willingly than screaming at the tops of my lungs, I turned to see that Jesse was right behind me.  
  
'It hurts, doesn't it?' he said softly, his eyes hollow.  
  
I didn't credit him with an answer, just glared. It was so painful, to see his face then. There wasn't any compassion etched in his face, only evil. I'm serious. He truly looked plain evil.  
  
So, there I was, surrounded my a searing blaze, and nothing else, as far as I knew, except the sky above which was identical to the previous chamber's. A mad, cursed ghost was behind me, and presumably, a mad, bad ass ghost was ahead of me. It wasn't the most soothing situation, you know?  
  
It was weird, just about then, as I was stepping over what looked like coal scattered over the glassy floor, that was black with soot, may I add, that I suddenly felt it. It was a burst of energy within me, around the pit of my stomach. I felt fuller, somehow, more whole, stronger. It wasn't as if this strength was motivated, so what gives? But, hey, I SO wasn't complaining. I remained quiet, except for my gusty breaths, trudging through the fire that seemed to go on and on and on . . .  
  
'Suze!' rang out a voice. I saw Paul, standing there, on what looked like a platform. He wasn't being burnt to a crisp. Well, I wasn't, but . . . well, it was hurting a lot, so shut up.  
  
I still glared at him. I couldn't believe that the person standing there, with his mop of dark brown curls, his long, khakis, a very flattering top, and his pale eyes, was a demon. No, on second thought, I could. But I couldn't believe that the person BEHIND me was one. I mean, how had he become on so fast, if he was only cursed not so long ago? Cursed just before-  
  
He'd stabbed me. Jesse Da Silva had stabbed me.  
  
Whenever I thought about it, even now, it still hit me hard. I mean, I'd been totally in love with him, and goes around, and pops me a blade? A Ghost Hunter's Knife, no less. Which brought me to ask . . .  
  
'Paul, a question,' I said savagely, as he helped me onto this platform, which was higher than I thought it was. He grasped my hand, and pulled me up, and kind of into him, but this was no time for any making out, or anything. It felt so good to be out of that fire. Sure, it was still muggy, but I was out of the fire, right?  
  
'Ask away,' he said, and kind of coughed as Jesse joined us, glowering. He seized me hand, but didn't technically pull me away from Paul, which I took to be consent for me to continue to converse with Mr Slater.  
  
'When Bozo himself here stabbed me with that knife,' I said quietly, jerking my head at Jesse, who was looking around, his eyebrows low and angry, 'Why did I just die, and not, like, get wiped off the face of the earth, and all? You know, from existence, I should say.'  
  
He raised an eyebrow. 'It's pretty obvious, isn't it Suze?'  
  
'Nup,' I replied, and looked cautiously at Jesse, who was now gazing intensely across the fire chamber, 'Care to shed your wisdom?'  
  
He smirked, and I saw that his eyes were still remarkably dark, but not totally black. I looked away from them. 'Well, you weren't a ghost, so it acted as a normal knife. However, if Bozo, as you refer to him as, was to do it again, you would, as you say, be wiped of the face of the earth.'  
  
'Oh,' was all I said. 'But what if-'  
  
Jesse jerked me forward. 'We are going this way,' he grunted, lugging me to follow him, Paul strolling along behind. Again, Jesse set me down in the flames. Instantly, the pain shot up my legs again. I inhaled a sharp breath, and squeezed Jesse's hand really tightly, against the pain. Paul was looking at me sympathetically.  
  
'Da Silva,' he said, 'You think that you should Carry- uh, Susannah? She hasn't been a ghost for very long, and-'  
  
'Neither have you,' pointed out Jesse, not very politely.  
  
'Yes, but I'm a demon, as you know so well by now. Suze- I mean, Susannah, isn't. You've been a ghost for a while, centennial boy, and she's knew to the whole-'  
  
'Paul shut your mouth if you intend on keeping all your teeth,' growled Jesse, still pulling my towards the end of this chamber, which seemed too far away for my liking. For a split second, I almost felt proud of Jesse, when he said that. It was something that I would have been more likely to say. I flatter myself to say that he learn his modern lingo from the best, but that would be going to far. However, when he turned and basically pushed me down into the fire, as if to defy what Paul had said all together, I didn't feel so proud. I mean, it plain HURTS, you know!  
  
I bit my lip hard. It was all I could do from yelling blue murder. Jesse, momentarily satisfied with the way that Paul paled, pulled me back up, his hand still firmly clasped around my wrist. It was about then, I'd say, when I felt the second spurt of energy. It was kind of like a mild gunfire within me. I, again, felt stronger, like I could break rock. The fire was starting to ease up, too.  
  
Okay, I was getting a bit high and mighty, when a saw it. It was just a flash of back that I dismissed to be my imagination. However, when I saw it the second time, what appeared to be a long, rapidly moving black pipe, I kind of got a bit worried.  
  
'What was that?' I asked plainly. I mean, I wasn't scared, just curious.  
  
'What was what, Suze?' asked Paul in my ear, as Jesse had made no indication to reply. We were almost at what looked like a door, now, when, for the third time, I saw a glimpse of black among the fire.  
  
'That,' I said, pointing at where it had been. Paul squinted, and replied, 'There's nothing there, Suze.' I frowned, because there WAS.  
  
Okay, he ended up believing me when this thing coiled a long, scaly black tail around my leg, and slid my from between the two guys. I yelled, as I felt myself being dragged across hot coal. The tail thing was wrapped firmly around my leg, and was drawing me towards what looked like a huge, black fireplace. That was when I panicked.  
  
'JESSE! PAUL! GET YOUR ASSES HERE!' I roared, flipping like, crazy, the fire searing on my skin . . .  
  
That was when the tail thing got way over excited, and lifted me up. UP- SIDE DOWN! Like, oh my God, Paul was going to see my knickers! Ew! I struggled to conceal my underwear, but realized I had bigger problems when the black tentacle was actually pulling me into that fireplace! It didn't connect before, that just because we were going near there that we were going IN. Well, I freaked. I began to thrash so violently that the owner of the tentacle felt it necessary to send out another one.  
  
'Shit,' was all I said. Now, this was more like it. I was finally getting back some of my coolness, and wasn't such a nervous wreck any more. I mean, so what, Jesse raped me, big deal? I'll get over it.  
  
Paul was below me, trying to grab my foot whenever I got near enough, and, most disgustingly, had full view to up my skirt, which was just wrong, but I tried not to think about that, you know. And Jesse was just standing on the platform, watching me, a smirk pasted on that illegally hot Latino face, that was looking so sickly entertained. It was appalling, really.  
  
Okay, when I felt another tentacle thing wrap around my stomach, I got pissed off. I snatched up the tentacle around my waist, and, being all resourceful, slipped out one of my hair slides. It was one of my butterfly ones, that I guess I'd forgotten to take out, but the edge was adequately sharp. I pressed it against the scales, then, in one blow, plunged it into the constricting tale.  
  
From within the depths of the fireplace, I heard an inhuman shriek. Then again, this thing wasn't exactly human in the first place, so I shouldn't have been as startled as I was. That tentacle promptly released me, green blood seeping out of where I'd most disgustingly inserted my hair clip.  
  
Uh, now this was the weird bit, so brace yourself. Paul, yes, Paul, FLEW up, and stabbed the tentacles around my legs with that Ghost Hunter's Knife! But the point was, he FLEW! Defied the laws of gravity, and everything, and just seemed to be thinking his flight, rather than actually using any energy to propel himself up so he was eye-level with me the way he was. Now, in my opinion, that was the most freaky thing.  
  
Yeah, so the tentacles kind of shrank away with more embarrassing squeals on the thing's part, resulting in my falling, unfortunately, right into Paul's waiting arms. Mind you, it was a heck of a lot more appealing than landing in the arms of Mr Da Silva, in his current state, and even more appealing than landing in the ominous fire. I panted, as Paul wrapped his arms around my legs and my back, and flew to the ground, not at all affected by the fire that was knee-height to him.  
  
I was still catching my breath, when Jesse said threateningly, 'Put her down, Slater.' Paul did so with undue urgency, the outcome being my falling into the fire.  
  
'Jeez, watch the merchandise,' I snapped at him, and scrambled painfully to my feet. I saw that my legs were starting to get all red and puffy, which irritated me very much so.  
  
'What's the good of being a ghost if I'm not immune to pain?' I asked grumpily.  
  
'Well, that was the Serpent, and it affects everyone, despite their status or form. So, basically,' he said, misreading my blank expression, 'it hurts ghosts too.'  
  
'Uh, Paul, last time I heard, snakes? Yeah, they only have one tale,' I scowled at him. Jesse chuckled darkly, causing the flames to flicker in a way that didn't serve to soothe me.  
  
'Susannah, Slater, come,' he said. Okay, for one freaky, utterly alarming moment, I thought he said Susannah Slater! As if, like, I was married to Paul! It dawned on my after five seconds that they were separate references, and I remained quiet.  
  
'So, how do we get out of here?' I asked, my hands on my hips. I do not like being freaked out, let me assure you.  
  
Paul and Jesse exchanged dark looks, which were different to the common loathing ones they frequently provided each other with.  
  
'Well, unfortunately, Suze- I mean, Susannah,' Paul corrected himself hastily under Jesse's low growl, 'there are only two ways to get into this room.'  
  
I didn't get him. 'Yeah, the way we came, and?' I asked expectantly.  
  
Paul went to break it to me easily, but Jesse, who was enjoying my ignorance, said, 'Think, Susannah. Think real hard.'  
  
I frowned, crossing my arms. His taunting voice still acted to make me feel very unsafe. His tones were no longer reassuring and loving, but now snide and, well . . .  
  
Evil.  
  
Looking around, I saw the door that we'd come in by, and saw the fireplace where this mysterious "Serpent" dwelt, but no other openings. I voiced this fact, and Jesse started laughing.  
  
'What is so funny?' I wanted to know, glaring. Then my heart stopped entirely.  
  
The fireplace . . .  
  
No WAY!  
  
'Yeah, Suze,' said Paul softly, as if reading my thoughts, 'Sorry.' 


	17. The Serpent

READ: Guys, this will be the LAST chapter be in PG 13. I am thinking, though . . . I seriously think that everything from this chapter on isn't going to be vulgar or rude. I mean, I don't think it needs to go up, and maybe if I can just rate those chapters in question R . . . Because I really am scared that I'm going to loose everyone! (Cries hysterically.) Anyway, after a long bout of writer's block, here's your chapter, and another one'll be up soon!  
  
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My mouth was hanging open, I realized, and I promptly jammed it shut.  
  
'Oh, no you don't. Now you've really gone nuts, I am NOT going in there!' I said loudly, shaking my head at both Paul and Jesse, 'No way!'  
  
Jesse took a dramatic step toward me and seized my arm. 'You'll do as you're told,' he growled in that low, Spanish accent. Okay, now that I was feeling a bit, I dunno, stronger, I pulled away from him, and was like, 'I'll do what I like. And what I like consists of nothing suicidal, despite the fact that I'm already dead because of you.'  
  
Paul raised his eyebrows in alarm. 'Suze,' he warned quietly through gritted teeth, 'Shut up.'  
  
I turned my head to him, my hair getting caught in my eyes. I brushed it away irritably. 'You think I'm going to listen to you? This is all your fault, Einstein. I hope you're proud that you have managed to successfully kill both yourself and I. Inspired, I really am.' Okay, I knew it wasn't a very intelligent idea to get crabby with a cursed guy, and the guy who was trying to help me, (even though he did get me killed,) but I was pissed off that they were being so bossy! Males for you, they think they're all that, don't they?  
  
However, my indignation diminished when Jesse glared at me next time. It was scary: a fusion of deadly rage and frustration bombarded me so silently, yet with such a loud and lucid message, "You WILL do as you are told, Susannah, or else."  
  
I gulped, as if I had actually heard him say this. Paul raised his eyebrows again.  
  
'Ah, Jeez,' I complained, 'You don't have to be such a bum about it . . .'  
  
Jesse's eye went thinner in malice, and he abruptly grabbed my arm. I shot him a dirty look, and Paul followed us to the fireplace. The fire wasn't hurting so much any more, but enough to still scorch my legs.  
  
The fireplace loomed over us. It was really quite large; the black brick barriers on either side reached four meters high. The fire inside danced a deep, ugly red, not like the normal orange fire in which I was standing in. Beyond the leaping, twirling flames was a hole that was obviously the other way out of this extremely sweltering chamber, unfortunately. I began to shake slightly, that Serpent thing didn't sound to pleasant. Like, I SO didn't want to go anywhere near that thing!  
  
'Hey Jesse? Yeah, uh, how exactly do you plan to get through there?' I asked, my voice laced with annoyance and sarcasm, and not revealing any of my trepidation. Well, at least, I hoped not . . .  
  
Jesse looked at me. 'Why, it's going to be distracted while we get through, Susannah,' he answered, with the faintest suggestion of a smirk flickering across his Latin features. I nodded fairly. 'Okay, how are you going to distract it then?' I asked him.  
  
He laughed. I immediately went cold. 'How else?' he said, 'I'm using you, of course.'  
  
Paul stopped dead in front of us, and turned. 'Now, De Silva, really, that's a bit-'  
  
'You say out of this, Slater,' hissed Jesse. I was staring blankly at Jesse.  
  
'You're not serious,' I said flatly.  
  
'Why, certainly, Querida,' he said, and with a terrifying push, I was sent careering into the flames before Paul could grab me. I know that he tried, I saw his hands fly for me furiously, but was held back by Jesse, who grabbed his shoulders, spun him around, and sent a punch at his face. Whether his aim was accurate, I didn't see, for the fire veiled me. This fire, I found, didn't scald me in the least; quite the reverse, felt like a gentle rousing tingle.  
  
I heard Paul shout from somewhere behind me, 'De Silva, you CAN'T send her in there! It'll rip her to shreds! You can't-'  
  
And Jesse's dangerous reply came, 'I can do as I wish, Slater. You are in no position to tell me what I can and can't do! I told you I had my reasons for bringing her, and this is certainly one of them.'  
  
It was only then I realized the full capacity and peril of Jesse's curse. It had already killed me, and was now doing everything in its power to see that my existence . . . well, ceased to exist, for lack of better words. I had never really thought that the curse would completely take over Jesse, and there would always be a spot where he'd still care for me, even in he smallest measure, but with a sickening jolt in my stomach, I become conscious of the fact that to Jesse, I was no more than a good means of bait.  
  
It hurt me more than I can say, in ways I didn't think it was possible for Jesse to hurt me, and even though I was dimly aware that it was all Paul's fault, it didn't change the words that were spiling from my Jesse's lips. I stood there, in behind the red inferno, my mind blank. Let me tell you, I was brought back to my senses when, for the second time, I felt a sudden coil around my waist. I yelled in indignation as I was swiped off the sizzling ground.  
  
I turned my head, and saw something that would remain in my memory forever. At the base of four twisting tentacles was the most horrible head of a snake that I'd ever been condemned enough to behold. A solid layer of black scales shielded its whole body, and flashed whenever they caught the radiance of the dancing fire. The burning red pupils of its eyes were vertical and pointy, narrowed in anger. I was spellbound in horror so unimaginable, I swear to God, if my throat had have been functioning properly, my scream would have brought me back to life! (. . . Maybe I should have tried that . . .)  
  
The snake's freakish, terrifying head zigzagged closer to me, and opened its giant mouth to reveal the largest, sharpest fangs that I've ever seen.  
  
'Holy caah-rrrap!' I bellowed, as it froze ready to strike, it's many tails flicking dangerously, and then- I- well, I don't really know how- how it happened, but as I raised my hands to defend myself, thing blinding light issued from them! It hit the snake right in the eyes, and that stupid worm just exploded into a mist of silver dust, right before my eyes! I dropped to the flaming floor, staring at my hands . . .  
  
What had I just done?  
  
A pair of shoes greeted my downcast eyes. I looked up, still in awe at what I had just executed, and saw Paul gaping at me in great bewilderment.  
  
'Suze, what the hell just happened?' he asked in this weird, hushed voice, and pulled me to my feet. I had noticed that the fire around my ankles had stopped burning completely.  
  
'I- I don't know,' I stuttered in slight disorientation, 'I was kind of hoping you could tell me that . . .'  
  
Then, I felt as if my arm was being pulled out of its socket, as Jesse whirled me around. He glared into my eyes, as if trying to find a hidden answer to something. I was still really freaked, you know, I mean, that thing had been HUGE! And It had just gone ka-poof! Just like that! That kind of thing can jar you, you know.  
  
'I don't know what just happened, Susannah,' said Jesse gruffly, staring at me with a weird, ambiguous look on his face, 'But it will not happen again. Understand me?'  
  
I got annoyed then. 'Sure, Rico,' I muttered.  
  
His lip curled. 'What?' he demanded.  
  
'Oooh, nothing,' I said, grinning, and turning away, but shock, horror, he seized my arm and threw me down in a fit of rage, raised his fist to strike-  
  
'Uh, guys? I really, really hate to interrupt, but seeing as our big reptilian friend has self-destructed, it might be a good time to go through that hole in the fireplace, if you know what I mean,' drawled Paul, but with a hint of urgency in his tones.  
  
Jesse immobilized, and then lowered his fist, not looking me in the eye. I scrambled to my feet, casting Jesse a killer look, and pointlessly dusted off my top and my mini skirt, as if he'd polluted it somehow.  
  
'Okay,' I said, and discretely moved well away from Jesse - that had been really close, that had - 'Are we going?'  
  
'Yeah, come on, Suze,' said Paul.  
  
'Susannah,' barked Jesse inspecting the hole in the fireplace, and seeing how far down it was, 'Call her Susannah.'  
  
'Yeah, yeah,' Paul said carelessly, waving a hand, and conveniently grabbing mine. To me, he whispered, 'Stay close, Suze.'  
  
As his hand squeezed mine, I felt a strange, curious yet pleasant tingle in the pit of my stomach. STOP PRESS! That wasn't right! Ew! Paul touched me! I jerked my hand away feeling real confused.  
  
~*~  
  
'It doesn't look like a far drop,' reported Jesse, still sounding murderous.  
  
'Okay, so how do we check?' I asked. Jesse's eyes strayed to me, but Paul pulled me back.  
  
'Come on, Da Silva, I think you proved your point,' said Paul with annoyance. 'I mean, just 'cause you haven't got the guts to check for yourself, you don't have to shove her down all the time.'  
  
Jesse stiffened. Paul had obviously touched a nerve. Hey, maybe he'd jump first this time?  
  
Not a hope.  
  
Jesse turned, slowly but deliberately, and said to Paul, 'I have more guts than ten of you, Slater, but when I order something to be done, it will be done! If I say that we use Susannah to test how far this drop is, so it shall be done!'  
  
Whoa, he was going WAY Hitler on us then. I mean, who did he think he was? God?!  
  
Pissed off, I said, 'Fine, Jesse. Don't get your panties in a twist.' Paul smirked, but Jesse didn't really know what panties were, and a spasm of confusion flickered over his face as he looked down at his tights. I snorted, and while he was looking, I . . .  
  
JJJUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMPPPPEEDDDD!!!!!  
  
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Now, review! Love ya all!  
  
Susannah's Secret (is that she is a mediator, which you all know . . .) 


	18. Afraid of the Dark

It was dark. That's really all there was to describe this new place. Oh, and cold. Terribly cold. I could barely move from the effect the numbing chill had on my spectral self.  
  
It was not long before Jesse, and Paul, who had his hand around Jesse's ankle, joined me.  
  
I looked around, and all I could see was the inky blackness that blanketed everything around me. I only knew that Jesse and Paul were with me because I could hear them sniping at each other, and making serious threats of amputation, disembowelment, decapitation, and other stuff involving one's anatomy that sounded just GROSS. I mean, seriously, this was getting so immature.  
  
'Well, if you don't shut up Slater, I'll knock your nose into your skull so far, you won't be able to-'  
  
'Uh, Jesse? Paul? What the hell are we doing here?' I interrupted, not very politely. I looked over at where I thought they were, but it was hard, because their voices were kind of everywhere. I mean, seriously, you couldn't see a THING. No slightly lighter black shadows moving around on a sheet of ink. Nup, nothing. No stars above, no fog even. It was really scary, like loosing one of my most precious and vital senses.  
  
Paul answered. 'We're waiting, Suze-'  
  
But Jesse cut him off in fury, 'Call her Susannah, you limp-'  
  
'All right! Susannah then!' snapped Paul, his irritation heavy in the cold air.  
  
This was really pissing me off, but I kept my cool, because, well . . . oh, okay, I was scared that Jesse might lose it again. Okay, happy? I said it!  
  
I shivered. 'Well? What are we waiting for then?' I asked.  
  
'Shhhh . . .' hushed Paul, and both guys went very quiet.  
  
'What? Why-' I began, but a hand flew to my mouth.  
  
'Silence, Susannah,' said Jesse, but to my utter astonishment and bliss, he sounded a little like his old self. Was the curse over? Was it? Oh, cool! My Jesse was back! Joy, oh joy! A bubble of ecstasy inflated within me! He lowered his hand slowly as he felt me calm down.  
  
'Jesse? Is the curse over? Are you-' I said, but with such severity, he grabbed my hair, yanked it, and his hand was over my mouth again to shut me up. Yeah, that bubble?  
  
. . . Uh, it just popped . . .  
  
So, I was listening to a silence that was so loud, my ears were ringing. My head ached from Mr Da Silva's brutal tugging episode, but I didn't feel helpless anymore. That was something, at least-  
  
WHOA!  
  
With a sudden rushing wind and a flash of white light that burned my eyes, a whole herd of these black horses came charging at us! For real! I jammed my eyes closed expectantly, screamed and leapt to the side, but I didn't hear Paul or Jesse make any movement. When I heard the sound of hammering hooves stop, I dared to open my eyes. There, I saw the most ferocious looking horses I have ever seen. Their whole bodies were completely black, and they were bridled with thick leather strips. Their coats were shiny, but the manes and tails were long and bushy, so that the hair fell to the ground in messy layers. But their eyes were the most disturbing of all. Like Jesse's and Paul's had been before, they were jet black, and glared out accusingly.  
  
But it was what Paul said that made me freak.  
  
'Okay, come on, I'll help you up.'  
  
I stopped dead, and tore my eyes away from the horses and snapped them onto him. (I could now see him and Jesse from the faint glow that was still illuminating from the horses.) 'Uh, what? No, I'm best with my two feet on the ground, thanks,' I answered quickly. I mean, in the normal world, I don't like going on thrashing, wild animals that are heavier than myself, (well, I'll make one exception . . .) but these things? Oh, no. I was staying well aaaWAY! AHH!  
  
Jesse's hands had planted themselves around my hips and had hoisted me up onto the nearest one before I could conclude my thoughts. I had to grab on to the horse's mane very sharply prevent myself from falling off, which must have riled it, if the way it reared up and attempted to fling me twenty feet away was any indication.  
  
'Get me off this mad thing!' I said, as it bucked like billy-o.  
  
'Susannah, you will be obedi-'  
  
'No, I won't be obedient, Hector!' I yelled, calling him by his proper name to annoy him. I saw his eyes narrow and his body tense, but Paul stepped in front of him before he could act.  
  
'Get on a bloody horse, Da Silva,' Paul said dangerously, 'Or . . . we might be late.'  
  
There was a hidden message in there that I must have missed, but alarmingly, my horse stopped bucking, and Jesse listened to Paul willingly without promising he was going to sever specific parts of his body, which was not a relief, believe it or not. It made me worry.  
  
Jesse mounted his black beauty with ease, and gave me the impression that he was very familiar with horse riding. Well, he must have been, being the rich son of a rancher. Paul straddled his also, but lacking Jesse's grace and confidence on a creature so feral natured. My anger was starting to overwhelm me again, as no one was telling me where we were.  
  
'Listen, you guys had better tell me what is going on, because-' I started, but was cat short by Jesse's yell of 'H'yah!' accompanied by a painful sounding slap on the horses thigh. It neighed in indignation, reared, and sped off.  
  
'Do the same, Suze!' shouted Paul over the rumble of moving hooves as the others in the herd began to canter after Jesse. I looked at him crazily, and then turned to the back of my horses head uncertainly. Then, with as much vigour I could muster in my hesitation, I walloped the horse on the upper leg. It kicked back, and galloped rapidly after Paul, who'd just taken off. Being constantly jerked around wasn't a very rewarding sensation. I felt like I was ready to puke.  
  
My hands closed firmer on the bridle, and I squinted my eyes at the bobbing black behind of Paul's horse. I sped my own up, until I was beside him.  
  
'You think you could tell me what's up?' I asked in a shout, as those horses were LOUD.  
  
His head darted at me, and I could see his curls were being blown back.  
  
'Suze, you got to understand, I didn't want you to come with us-'  
  
'I don't care about that,' I said impatiently shaking, 'just tell me where you two are going.'  
  
Paul screwed up his face on his untamed horse. 'All right,' he said. 'Well, this place is kind of similar to your Shadowland. Except, well, this isn't a very nice bit. You think these horses are just here to scare little girls like you?' I sniffed with affront. 'No, these are the only creatures that can cross here. Although you don't see it, the ground absorbs souls. And seeing as us ghosts are purely souls, we are in big trouble. This darkness is to hide the floor, and tries to trick people into walking on it. Where we landed is the only place that has ground that is safe to stand upon-'  
  
'Okay, yeah, enough on this place,' I said, as our horses sped across inky oblivion, 'What are we doing here at all? I mean, I know you're getting us back to life, but how?'  
  
Paul whipped his head back to me, his eyes reduced to thin slits in an effort to protect his eyes. 'Well, there's a certain dude we have to go see. We have to negotiate with him and if he thinks that we died unfairly, and are worthy of resurrection, we pop back onto earth. But if not . . .' He trailed off and stopped looking at me. I frowned in suspicion.  
  
'If not? What, Paul?' I asked, my voice laced with accusation.  
  
Paul looked pained, but took a quick breath and said in a would-be casual tone, 'He'll just Delete us.'  
  
'Delete us?' I asked, 'what does Delete mean? Send us back as ghosts?'  
  
Paul laughed hollowly. 'Oh, no,' he laughed, although there was no humour in his voice, 'He restores us to life, but . . . uh, we aren't us anymore.'  
  
I stared. 'Wassa watta?' I asked in disgusted confusion.  
  
'Well, it's the same effect with the Ghost Hunter's Knife, isn't it. Except, he replaces our bodies with evil souls, rather than sending our ghosts back into our bodies.'  
  
My jaw fell. 'What?!' I shrilled, and pulled on my reins. Paul stopped too, and advised, 'Keep moving, Suze, or Mr Murderer will chuck a spaz.'  
  
'Hey!' I snapped, nudging the horse with my feet, 'Don't call him that. If I remember correctly, this is all your doing. Don't try to pin it on him just because you stuffed up when you cursed him, and made him all evil! It's your fault that I'm dead, and I wish that I'd never met you, Paul.'  
  
I twisted around so I wasn't facing him anymore and rode faster, but he caught up to me.  
  
'Now, Suze, don't be like that,' he said ruefully, 'I said I was so-'  
  
'Sorry won't cut it, Paul!' I shouted, my voice crackling dangerously. I felt a large lump swelling in my throat. 'I'm dead because of you, and there's a good chance that I'm going to have to either stay that way, or worse . . .' I blinked savagely, but decided to ride away again. But once more, he caught up. This time, he grabbed my hand, and made me face him. Our horses were very close, which seemed to infuriate them, but Paul didn't notice.  
  
'Suze, I told you before, I'm going to do everything possible to get you back alive, and I don't care what it takes. I'm more sorry than what I can say that Jesse did that to you. I shouldn't have cursed him. Can you ever forgive me?' He looked at me hopefully. His grip on my hand tightened.  
  
I seriously considered it. Forgiving him, I mean. I mean, that way, we could have gotten on, and he would have tried harder to help me and respect my wishes. But I was too stubborn, wasn't I.  
  
I pulled my hand gently from his. 'Paul, you screwed up big time. I mean, that time when you lured me to your room was bad, and what I had to go through with my feet was torture, but hey, if you haven't noticed, I'm DEAD. That is a big thing that's hard to forgive, you know. I might never see my family and friends again, you realize, and you want me to say that is okay? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but you can live with the guilt. Mind, you're not exactly flesh and blood yourself, so living isn't exactly one of your specialties at the moment wither,' I said coldly.  
  
That was when his look hardened. 'Hey, you killed me too,' he said angrily, 'I'm dead because of YOU. How does that make you feel?' he demanded.  
  
'It makes me feel even,' I retorted. 'We're even. You killed me, I killed you. But it doesn't mean you get my forgiveness, you ass.'  
  
It was about then, I think, when my horse reared up sharply and unexpectedly. I screamed, and was thrown over the side of my horse, but still clung for dear life. The stupid thing went cantering violently all over the place, and I knew that I was slipping . . .  
  
'Suze, hang on!' Paul shouted, and pulled his horse up near my own crazy one. His head kept turning from side to side, as he was looking forward, and then down at me to check if I was okay. I was still yelling, because those hooves? Yeah, they were coming really close to my face. I mean, we're talking millimeters here!  
  
'I'm hanging on!' I bit. Then, the horse stopped, and with almighty force, flipped me into the air, so I gained several meters in altitude. Then, gravity acted, and I fell back down . . . Of course, my horse was long gone, so I was destined to fall onto that fatal floor of blackness, but with lightning reflexes, Paul's arm whipped out just in time, caught me around my torso, and pulled me onto his own horse. Okay, I was WAY too traumatized to remember that I hated him, and so I kind of let him position me between him and the back of the horses head, my legs dangling over one side, and both his arms on either side of me to prevent me from falling off his horse.  
  
'Shit,' was all I could say.  
  
'Shhhh,' he soothed, 'It's all right. You're fine, you're all right.'  
  
Okay, having a big fat hoof almost in your mouth isn't what I consider to be all right OR fine. But I was just too freaked, and WAY pissed off with that bloody horse. I mean, how rude!  
  
So, against Paul's warm chest, I just closed my eyes, and tried not to think about anything. It was actually a very nice spot to be. But, well, I did my nut when he kissed me gently on the forehead. I mean, come on, I was still angry at HIM too, wasn't I, so I wasn't welcoming any romantic attentions from him any time soon.  
  
'Hey, lay off!' I said, and pushed myself as far away from him the best I could on horseback, which, when you think about it, isn't very far. He just shrugged, and looked in front of him. Okay, my ass was starting to go really numb from all the bouncing of our steed. As if an answer to an unspoken prayer, Paul pulled the reins abruptly, so that we came to a complete stop. I saw that Jesse had done the same, and all the other wild black horses were pawing the mysterious ground. I inhaled a breath of air that was lined with iciness.  
  
'What happened to Susannah's horse?' asked Jesse, his tone corresponding with the temperature.  
  
'It went nuts, and she almost fell off,' Paul explained, dismounting, and pulling me down carefully. I found that I was shivering, and so Paul gave me his jacket, ghostly as it was.  
  
'Hey, a question,' I said to Paul. 'Why can I still feel the cold? I mean, I'm dead.'  
  
Paul looked at me seriously while Jesse was checking all the horses. 'Well, this place affects ghosts, demons, the alive, whatever. You are not immune to the usual things that most are on earth. Everybody suffers and feels here,' he said. I felt like my back was sagging under his jacket.  
  
'Oh, right,' I replied, not really understanding, but yeah . . .  
  
Jesse walked over to us. 'Slater, I'm making a new rule. If one of us falls behind, they stay there. No going and lending a hand, it's their own fate,' he said irately.  
  
Whoa, wasn't this a bit too Pirates of the Caribbean for me?  
  
'So, what, if you're hanging over a cliff, you want me to leave you there, is that it?' asked Paul, as though he'd have liked nothing better.  
  
Jesse's look darkened. 'Slater, I assure you, that situation will never arise.'  
  
'It could happen, so watch your back,' muttered Paul evilly under his breath, and slipped his hand in mine. Jesse didn't hear him. Instead he looked right at me, and his eyes flashed black, so they matched the horses'. I rolled my eyes, knowing that he was trying to look like Mr Scary Himself. Well, it wasn't working. I was getting stronger as a ghost, thank you very much.  
  
'Both of you follow me,' said Jesse aloofly. Then, he turned to me, saw that Paul's hand was clasped around my own, and his eyes flashed an evanescent, scorching red colour. He pushed Paul over, and dragged me away from him.  
  
'What's your problem?' I wanted to know, as he pulled me towards what seemed to be more nothingness.  
  
'Silence.'  
  
'No, Jesse. You're acting like the biggest ass to me. Are you going to admit that you are cursed, or what? You don't still think that you are just having a bad day or something, do you? I mean, I'd put it down to PMS if I didn't know that ghosts, let alone dudes, couldn't get it, so what?' I said savagely. His grip on my wrist intensified.  
  
'Ow! Now, Jesse, that hurts! See? See, you're at it again! You're acting like a loser! Do you see yourself? It's way-'  
  
'Shut up, Suze!' hissed Paul in my ear. I glared at HIM to shut up.  
  
'You should really listen to Mr Slater, Susannah,' growled Jesse, 'He has the right idea at the moment.' Then, all of a sudden, he just stopped. Paul ran into me, and his chin bashed on my head. We both groaned, and looked at Jesse, who seemed to be searching for something . . . 


	19. Knight Time

A/N: To all the people out there who gave me the kick ass reviews, you ROCK! I love you all so much, and so if any of these chapters are at all disappointing, I'm sorry, and I am SO sorry it's SO long, but I just love long things. . . Er, can we just forget I said that? Nah, keep up your awesome reviews, and have faith in me. Everything will be all right, and yes, I suck at cliff hangers, so you won't get too many of them I'm afraid.  
  
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'Have you found it?' asked Paul tentatively.  
  
'Not yet,' replied Jesse, disgruntled, 'but I'd better hurry, or the floor will start to absorb us.'  
  
'Find what?' I questioned, looking at Jesse. Everything was slowly getting darker and darker like before. I didn't want to be engulfed by the bleak nothingness again, but there seemed to be no fighting it. 'Find what? What's he talking about Paul?'  
  
'Quiet!' ordered Jesse, and then, bent over, squinting at something that seemed to be on the ground. 'Found it.'  
  
'What?' I stressed in exasperation.  
  
'Have you ever heard of a Trick Brick, Suze- um, Susannah?' asked Paul.  
  
'Nup,' I responded.  
  
'Well, basically, you just have to find a small brick-like button on a chamber floor, which will revolutionize your milieu.'  
  
'Revolutionize your milieu?' I repeated in mystification. 'Paul, speak God damn English!'  
  
'He means that we'll be somewhere else in a second,' Jesse translated bluntly.  
  
'Oh, all right then.' I looked as Jesse stepped on this so-called Trick Brick.  
  
Wow!  
  
I liked those things. One second, we were almost lost in complete emptiness, and then, in a split second, my whole surroundings had changed! Everything was an eerie, spooky green, which was, (to be admitted,) not all that much more comforting, but at least I could see now. Mind, what I was seeing wasn't all that comforting. Jesse looked more murderous than ever, and in front of us were these three really freaky statues of what looked like armored knights.  
  
'Nice sculptures,' I said approvingly. 'Who's the interior decorator?' Paul snorted, but then looked back at the knights, and stopped smirking.  
  
'What's going on?' I asked. I hated being this clueless. I just wish that every time I wanted to know something, they'd just tell me, instead of telling me to shut up, you know?  
  
'Shut up,' said Paul softly. See?! SEE THAT?! Grrrrr!!!  
  
Then, with a horrible lurch of my heart, I saw one of those stone knights blink! Yep, blink! And it was STONE!  
  
I took a small, vague step back, my mouth hanging open slightly. Jesse was flexing his fingers, and Paul looked like he was mentally preparing himself for something.  
  
'What's-' I started, but at that minute, one of the stone knights unfroze, and marched at Jesse, brandishing a long, rocky sword! Like, whoa! Shortly followed by that, another one sprang at Paul! Oh, and of course, there was one left for me, wasn't there? How generous of them. I looked at Jesse and his gravelly friend, and saw that they were in heavy combat already, Jesse using all these flash demon powers that I'd only seen on the really electrifying Charmed episodes. Paul was aiming what looked like a ball of purple FIRE at his knight in stony armour. So, I looked back at my opponent, with no paranormal powers to speak of, demonic or otherwise, and found myself hoping for the best.  
  
'Yah!' I cried, and kicked what I considered to be a perfect high kick at its head. My foot collided with the rock helmet with considerate force, so I was highly offended when its head did a mere three-sixty rotation, and it kept coming at me. I mean, why couldn't it shatter to the ground and smash into tiny pebbles or something? And the worst thing? My foot throbbed like hell! I must have hopped around for a few seconds really stupidly. The knight just stared at me in this freaking, haunting way, as though its stillness was a lot more dangerous than its movement. Again, I chanced a glance over at Jesse, and saw that he was dealing with his enemy rather well; he'd succeeded to destroy one of the knight's arms. Paul wasn't doing so well. The knight had him in a weak spot. Paul was on the ground, and the knight was just about to stab him . . .  
  
'No!' I yelled, and threw myself at the granite statue, knocking it over completely. My original knight then charged at me also, so while Paul's knight held me, the other slashed its sword at me. Now, even though the swords were rather blunt, it was still agony! I yelled as the rock cut my arm, flicking my hair out of my eyes furiously.  
  
Then, Paul launched a pretty intense looking beam of light at the one doing the scything, and to my bliss, it blasted into millions of flinty fragments. The knight grasping me threw me against the wall and went at Paul. Not wanting to be out of the fight so early, I checked Jesse. He was in trouble! The knight had him pinned down to the floor! No!  
  
I dashed over there, and with all my might, pulled back Jesse's assailant. We fell back together, him on top if me. Let me tell you, it was HEAVY! Like being crushed in a really bad car accident or something.  
  
'Stay out of it, Susannah!' roared Jesse with rage, and aimed a spurt of acid-like liquid at the knight. It hit it wish a hiss and began corroding the rock right before my eyes. A drop landed on my leather mini and burnt a hole straight through! Like, oh my God! A bit of my butt was visible! But the knight wasn't completely gone yet. It got right up and marched at Jesse, looking horribly disfigured, not smooth as it had been before.  
  
Suddenly, to my horror, each of the knights kicked at the guys at the exact same moment in time. Both boys were propelled against the wall hard at the force of the kicks. I heard them both groan. Then, the knights' eyes latched onto me. They narrowed them at me, and advanced on me slowly, and the faster, and FASTER!  
  
'Suze!' yelled Paul, forgetting to call me Susannah, 'Watch out!'  
  
About a meter away from me, I had the sense and intelligence to leap out of the way. With a tremendous crash, they collided with each other, and broke down into smaller rocks.  
  
After the dust had settled, I stared at the wreckage. Rocks were everywhere. I looked down at my legs and saw that I had a nasty little graze on my knee, where a bit of rock had shot into my skin, rather shallowly though. I squeezed the stone out gently, and then limped over to Paul.  
  
'You okay?' I asked him.  
  
'Great,' he said, and scrambled up, brushing himself. 'You got a hole in your skirt,' he observed.  
  
'No shit, Sherlock,' I snapped. I mean, if he'd noticed, that meant he'd been staring at my ass. I shuddered.  
  
I looked over at Jesse, who was shaking his head, looking like a war veteran.  
  
'And you?' I said.  
  
'I'm fine,' Jesse replied, but Paul and I both detected a definite danger in there. I gulped, preparing for anything. 'I told you to stay out of my fight, Susannah!'  
  
'It was going to kill you!' I protested, forgetting the fact that we were all dead.  
  
'No, it can't. Fights with those knights would not have resulted in death on my part, I would have kept fighting, like an immortal!' he yelled, striding closer to me. I'd intruded on his battle, thus, cramping his style. He wasn't taking it too well, was he?  
  
'Well, sorry for trying to help, but you looked pretty pathetic there,' I retorted.  
  
SLAP.  
  
Well, I hadn't been expecting THAT. My hand flew to my turned face. It was searing. Jesse had just smacked me! Oh my God! I never knew it was THAT bad! My mouth was hanging open slightly in this vastly injured way. I couldn't believe it. This was way too much! He'd slapped me!  
  
'Now, that's going to far,' Paul said angrily.  
  
'Watch it, Slater, or you'll be next,' Jesse snarled.  
  
'Hey, I'm not a little girl, De Silva, I can take you on any day,' Paul snapped. Now, whether that was implying that I was a little girl or whatever, I was jolted back to my senses, insulted in spite of myself.  
  
'Well, FINE!' I said bitchily, 'Now, did I just whitewash those stoned losers for a reason, or are we going to stay here?'  
  
Jesse and Paul, who were glaring daggers at each other, turned their heads to glare at me in outrage, seeing as I'd just accepted credit for defeating the knights all by myself. Well, it had been me, mostly. I'd got those last two to run into each other, and . . . yeah, well, Paul blew one of them up, but I did the rest. Jesse did nothing.  
  
They both started arguing with each other again when I noticed that the door in which the knights had been guarding was down gaping.  
  
'Uh, guys?' I asked, and pointed to the door. Jesse's dark Latin eyes extinguished from their fury, and settled down considerably. God, he was so HOT! Why did stupid Paul have to go and curse him, WHY?!  
  
'Of course,' Jesse said, and pulled on his white top, tucking it in and brushing off the dust. Paul was smoothing down his hair hurriedly.  
  
'Am I missing something?' I asked, 'you're acting like you're both going for job interviews, the pair of you.'  
  
'No,' Paul said with an obvious nervousness in his voice, 'This is it.'  
  
'We're going to see him,' Jesse said.  
  
'See who?' I asked, 'Who are you talking about?'  
  
They looked at each other.  
  
'The Keeper of Souls,' they murmured together.  
  
Whoa, that sounded heavy and official now, didn't it?  
  
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Now REVIEW!!! Love you all to bits! (In a total non-gay way, *coughs!*)  
  
Susannah's Secret,  
  
a.k.a. Lauren & Katie. 


	20. The Keeper of Souls

Okay, sorry for the delay. I am SSO tired at the moment, you realize, so if you are in any way disappointed, please tell me. This story won't go on for much longer, I promise, I'm really sorry if its length is repellent or anything. But please, PLEASE review? I'd like to get five reviews before I post the next chapter? Pretty please?  
  
Love ya! Enjoy!  
  
Jesse stepped through the door first, and Paul and I followed him. It felt like I had just walked through a sheet of icy water. The place I was in now was strange. I was standing on the top of a stone stairway. At the foot of the steps was a clear floor, and lead up to another flight of stairs opposite us. At the top of those stairs was what looked like a chair - a throne. Like, way freaky. It reminded me of one of those Ancient Egyptian tombs that I saw on The Mummy. The walls were lined with flaming torches, the fire dancing ghost-like across the walls. The limestone bricks around the chamber had a kind of dark, sandy brown glow about them, and there were eight pillars that were shaped like huge sarcophagi. Funny how sarcophagi is the plural for sarcophagus, hey? I giggled weakly to myself. Jeez, even I was nervous, and I didn't even realize what we were up against . . .  
  
I looked around nervously. I wanted to ask Paul something, but the eerie silence that swathed the chamber seemed to be punishable by death if disturbed. Mind, death wasn't an issue, but it still freaked me out.  
  
Finally, my anxiety got the better of me, and I hissed, 'Now what?'  
  
'We have to wait,' breathed Paul in my ear, his whisper blowing gently and reassuringly on my hair. 'This dude can go invisible, so he is examining us.'  
  
'So, he could be staring at my ass at this very moment, and I wouldn't even know?' I murmured in outrage. I mean, ewww!  
  
'Uh huh,' came Paul's distracted reply. I saw that Jesse wasn't looking so jolly himself. His coolness had been completely dampened, and he looked mighty paranoid at this moment.  
  
'Jesse, are you okay?' I asked.  
  
'I'm fine!' he insisted angrily, yet quietly. He seemed to be controlling his temper while this Keeper of Souls guy was possibly in our midst.  
  
Okay, this waiting was getting really annoying now. I began to fidget with my hair, braiding it nervously. Then, out of the blue, invisible hands found their way around my waist and hauled me backward. I yelled in shock and went to attack the fool who dared lay a finger on me, but with an awful cracking noise, I felt myself vanish and reappear at the top of the stairs that Jesse and Paul were standing opposite of. Mind, they weren't exactly just standing. Jesse's head was whipping around sharply, and Paul had jumped down the stairs in a catlike movement as soon as he'd seen where I'd rematerialized.  
  
I did manage to turn my head and see who my captor was though. I didn't have to look too far back, as this guy- yes, it was a guy- was practically all over me. One arm was around my left arm, with his hand planted casually below my neck, and his other arm was on my abdomen. I tried to get away, you know, give him a back kick in the you-know-whatsies, but his grip on my tightened threateningly.  
  
'Don't move a muscle, girl,' he said in my ear, in this really deadly, amused voice. So, when I finally did manage to turn my head that little bit, just to defy this command, I saw his face.  
  
He looked so young! I mean, this guy couldn't have been too much older than Jesse. And- I regret to say - he was a hottie. Like, sizzlin'. He had sharp, black eyes that were narrowed at the moment in satisfaction, a crooked smile that expressed his confidence, and slick, blond hair that was kind of gelled back. His arms and face, at least, were deeply tanned, and I could only presume that the rest of him was. He was in this kind of leather, sleeveless top, but I couldn't see what else he was wearing. His whole aura seemed to radiate with the message, 'I'm dangerous.' Jeez, why do I find these bad boys attractive? What is WRONG with me?  
  
I replied to his lethal tone, 'Don't mess with me, pal.' Again, I tried to force my way out of his hold, but again he tightened it.  
  
Paul had finally made it over to this side of the steps. Jesse, who'd kept a slightly cooler head, had tactfully materialized.  
  
'Lucifer,' nodded Jesse all business-like.  
  
'Mr Da Silva,' came that mighty dangerous voice behind my ear, 'I'm impressed with the company you keep.' His left hand slid down my chest slightly. Okay, this was WAY too gross. Yet, again I thrashed about, but it was no use. This guy was really strong. As in, stronger than ten Jesses strong. I mean, of those muscly arms were any indication at all. Paul was glaring daggers at this guy who's name seemed to be "Lucifer," his fists clenched.  
  
'Careful, Slater, your eyeballs might pop in a second,' said Lucifer, noticing Paul's look. Paul lowered his gaze. Lucifer's hands moved to my wrists and he rapidly spun me around, tilting my chin up to look at him. If looks could kill, that guy would have been dust about then.  
  
'She's a pretty one,' he commented to Jesse. I couldn't see what they were doing, but it sounded like Paul was really pissed off. However, both of my companions were remaining quite silent.  
  
'Well?' asked Lucifer, and that was when he went too far. One of his hands wandered down to my butt, and I snapped. With all my strength, I pushed myself away from him, and kicked him in the stomach. He was sent flying back. I was shocked. I mean, I knew I was no amateur at fighting, but I didn't know that I could actually propel people backward that far. However, I stopped being so self congratulating when I noticed that he was up again. I ran for Paul - I mean, I wasn't about to run to Jesse for any protection - but this guy was FAST. I mean, it was snakelike, his reflexes. He grabbed my wrist and tugged me back to him.  
  
'No you don't,' he laughed. Again, he looked at Jesse. 'She's a tough little one, isn't she?' he remarked with pleasure. Paul was quivering in rage.  
  
'Who is this asshole?' I demanded of Jesse.  
  
Jesse's eyes widened in a 'shut up!' expression, but again, this Lucifer guy seemed to think it was funny. I really should had made the connection, but I was too angry.  
  
Lucifer twisted me around again, his hands still around my wrists, which he pinned behind my back. 'Didn't your friends tell you who I am?' he asked with a strange expression that reminded me of how people talk to babies. As in the "oooh, who's a big girl today?" style. I know, I've seen some whacked out parents do it. It's WEIRD. But this guy, well - like I said - was hot stuff. I mean, trust my luck for me to be in a chamber with the three hottest guys of the millennium, and still be in peril. I mean, they were all cute in their own way. Jesse, with his Latino, puppy dog eyes - and the great abs - Paul with his sublime hair and the gorgeous face, and now this guy with his shiny blond hair, and his dead devious expression that I seemed to find VERY appealing. But, like I said, my life was in danger, so that kind of dampened the situation.  
  
'No,' I replied icily.  
  
He chuckled and bowed his head slightly. 'I'm the Keeper of Souls.'  
  
Silence.  
  
Then, I snorted.  
  
Yeah, I know, not the cleverest thing to do. His look turned to thunder like lightning. 'You seem to find something funny?' he challenged.  
  
'What? You find me funny, do you not?' I retorted. He gave me this abrupt, violent shake that seemed to jolt me to my senses. I looked accusingly at Paul, because he wasn't exactly doing anything to prevent this, but he just shot me this "behave" look.  
  
BEHAVE?!  
  
'You, the Keeper of Souls? The one that these two were talking about with hushed voices? The spooky one? Uh, you're not exactly Freddy or Jason, if you know what I mean.' I don't know what junk I was prattling on, but it sure wasn't anything that Jesse approved of. He strode over and hissed at Lucifer, 'Ignore her,' and firing a look of pure venom at me. It pained me to see such hatred in his eyes for me . . .  
  
Again, the Lucifer dude laughed, but it was kind of hollow now. 'No, no,' he said, 'I like 'em fiery.'  
  
He SO did not just say that . . .  
  
Oh my God, what had I gotten myself into here?!  
  
Then, with a wave of his hand, which spewed out a kind of red, sparkly mist, a set of hand cuffs appeared. A very kinky thought darted through my mind about then, and it wasn't pleasant. With those break-neck reflexes again, he cuffed my right hand, and dragged me towards that throne thing I'd seen from the other side of the chamber before, and cuffed the other half to the arm. Uh, this was NOT good. He then turned back to Paul and Jesse.  
  
'Gentlemen,' he said. I couldn't see his face, because his back was turned to me, 'I am honoured that you've blessed me with such a pleasing pastime.' All the blood drained from my face . . . I mean, what a sleaze!  
  
'Lucifer, evil one, we have come to ask a favour,' Jesse said smoothly. Paul, I noticed, was still shaking in anger. I quietly turned and seated myself, dignified, on the throne, and certainly not with fear. I mean, I was trying to appear as standoffish as possible. Didn't want Sleaze-Butt getting the wrong idea, now. I still couldn't believe that he was the Keeper of Souls. I mean, I'd been expecting some ancient guy. And old dude, at least, would have just been mean, but this guy was crooked, which was so much worse.  
  
'Yes?' said Lucifer boredly, who went to lean coolly against one of the sarcophagus pillars. Paul took a menacing step closer and was about to say something, but Jesse cut him off.  
  
'Well, it was a matter of great misfortune that we were all separated from our lives,' Jesse explained in a calm, Spanish accent. 'It would be most appreciated if you could restore us to our lives. Well, Mr Slater and myself. Susannah is to stay as a ghost.'  
  
Again, that hit me hard.  
  
Lucifer looked up at him. 'And why should I do this for you?' he asked, a delicate eyebrow raised.  
  
Jesse shrugged. 'Well, I'm not sure if you've been told, but you're looking at the new Royal Advisor to His Majesty,' he said very smugly indeed.  
  
Both Lucifer and Paul looked at him very sharply.  
  
'What?!' they said in united disbelief.  
  
Jesse smirked. 'Yes, so if you ever needed any inside help, you could always notify me.' Paul was still glaring murderously at Jesse, but Lucifer nodded.  
  
'I see where you're coming from,' he said, 'but . . . inside help? Is that really worth two lives? I was thinking more along the lines of . . .'  
  
His eyes rested on me, and I felt my heart cease to function. It was like someone had pressed the "shut down" button in protest of what I was realizing.  
  
Paul, bless him, spoke up very furiously, 'No way. Name anything else, but Susannah is going back to earth. She's not-'  
  
'It's a deal,' said Jesse.  
  
My world shattered into thousands of tiny, irreparable shards . . .  
  
How could he? HOW COULD HE?!  
  
'No!' I screamed, 'I'm NOT staying here with that creep! Jesse, please! Don't do that!'  
  
Jesse turned to me aloofly. 'I told you that I had my uses for bringing you along. Barter was certainly unexpected, but it seemed to have worked very conveniently.'  
  
That was when Paul dove at him. 'Don't even think about it!' he roared, his hands around Jesse's neck. Lucifer smirked, and watched with interest, folding his arms smugly, and then looking over at me. That moment when our eyes met, I knew that I was up shit creek without a paddle big time. His black, demon eyes were alive with deep satisfaction.  
  
Jesse, I saw, was really socking Paul hard. Paul was yelling, and they were both rolling around on the ground, till they rolled right down the steps. That must have been painful, I tell you. But, on the bottom floor, they continued their incensed combat. It was a give and take battle; Jesse was giving, Paul was taking. I wanted to run in and try to stop it all, but the handcuffs were preventing me from doing anything of the sort. That was when I saw it on the ground -  
  
A Ghost Hunter's Knife! Paul must have dropped it!  
  
I bent down, but kind of slipped off the chair. Shoving the knife into the back pocket of my leather skirt hurriedly, I sat back on it. I really shouldn't have attracted attention to myself, because at that moment, Lucifer came swaggering over.  
  
'Well, well, well, Susannah, looks like we'll be having a sleepover,' he said seductively, smirking a crooked, immoral smirk, his black eyes glinting evilly. If there was ever a time where I was scared, it was then. I was terrified! I had another episode of thrashing desperately against my chains, but it didn't do a bloody thing except make enough noise to give me a blinding headache - in this place, ghosts weren't immune to anything - and hurt my wrist a lot. Lucifer slid a bronzed hand down my face. 'Now, settle down. There's plenty of time to get wild later, you know.' I couldn't believe my ears! This guy was such a - a . . .  
  
I was too fearful and scandalized to think up a nasty enough swear word at the time. He noticed the panic in my eyes, and it seemed to arouse him even more, and he completely neglected the raging two-man battle below, and focused all of his attention on me. I was off that throne like I shot, but I couldn't go anywhere, due to the fact that I was shackled to the arm of it. So while I tried to run a circle around the throne, I didn't get very far, and Lucifer - isn't that such a gay name? - slammed me roughly against the high back of it.  
  
'As soon as your friend Mr Da Silva shakes my hand, you'll be all mine,' he said, and kissed me on the mouth, but I was fully turning away from him!  
  
And I raised the Ghost Hunter's Knife to stab him . . .  
  
'Suze! DON'T! He's our only way out!' bellowed Paul. He and Jesse had frozen. Lucifer heard him, and looked around, saw the knife, and his expression changed into a murderous one.  
  
'Why, you little bitch!' he roared, and threw me to the floor. Yep, he broke the handcuffs all right. Easily, too.  
  
I sprawled across the ground. The Knife was a meter away . . .  
  
But noticed my gaze, and demonstrating those killer reflexes yet again, he shot at it, and reached it a millisecond before my hand did.  
  
But he didn't raise it.  
  
'I'm not going to stab you - yet. That would be too much of a waste,' he said slyly. 'Ha, but don't go trying to off me again, or you'll find yourself facing some pretty serious punishments.' And by the look in his eyes, his punishments had nothing to do with jail sentences, if you catch my drift.  
  
'You wouldn't dare,' I hissed. Which was a pretty stupid thing to say. I mean, I was still on the ground, and he was leaning over me, with the sleaziest expression on his face.  
  
'Watch out, I would,' he said, and went down, uh . . . yeah, but by that time, my strength had come from my rage.  
  
THIS GUY DESERVED TO HAVE HIS ASS KICKED INTO NON-EXISTANCE!  
  
I scrambled up, and kicked his face. He howled, clutching it, and hit the wall hard. Bouncing back up, he charged at me, his eyes flashing demonically so they were completely black like Paul's and Jesse's had been. I aimed a dynamic at his stomach, and he doubled over. On the third kick, I wasn't quite so lucky. He caught my leg and knocked my off my feet, but from the ground, I kicked him down too. Then, I leapt on him, in a total non-sexual way, and yanked the Ghost Hunter's Knife from him, arching my arm threateningly.  
  
'Bye, bye, buster,' I snarled through gritted teeth, but . . .  
  
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'"But"?! That's how you ended it?!?!' you scream. Well, review to find out more! And isn't Lucifer a JERK?  
  
REVIEW! ! ! ! 


	21. Giving up

A/N: I'm going to be quite fast replying for a while now, I'm on a roll, so please, don't forget to review!  
  
Last time:  
  
. . . and yanked the Ghost Hunter's Knife from him, arching my arm threateningly.  
  
'Bye, bye, buster,' I snarled through gritted teeth, but . . .  
  
**************************************************************************** ********  
  
. . . but I felt a hand seize my wrist and pull me off. I fell back and grazed my shoulder. The Ghost Hunter's Knife clattered to the stone cold floor.  
  
Lucifer sat up, his hair looking distinctly ruffled. His eyes were wide with shock and . . . uh, glee. I don't know why, I mean, I'd just been about to stab him. You'd think he'd have the decency to be scared or something!  
  
I turned to see who'd pulled me off, and surprise, surprise, it was Jesse. I glared at him. 'What'd you do that for?' I demanded.  
  
'Well, I think you're being selfish, Susannah,' he said, and my mouth dropped open in disbelief. He had to be JOKING. 'How am I going to get back to earth if you go and kick the deliverer into non-existence?'  
  
I choked on a laugh. 'Me, selfish?! What about you?! I have to STAY here with this numb nut because of you! You're the one who's selfish, you bastard!' I screamed, leapt up and began pounding on his chest with my fists in a fit of unrepeatable rage. I felt like my gut was boiling over like a volcano, and my head was on fire. I completely lashed out, and I'm glad to say, it was a good forty seconds before Jesse did manage to subdue me, and not a mere two. So he had me by the wrists, and he pulled me really close to his face.  
  
But when I saw his eyes, I began to regret flying off the handle. His eyes were black again, and seriously, if there was ever a time where my Jesse had looked murderous, it was now. All the other times were cheesecake compared to this. His perfectly tanned face was etched with the most dangerous significance I'd ever seen. His lips were white and curling with silent fury. His nostrils were flared, and his eyes . . . Oh, his eyes were something out of a nightmare. His hair seemed to fortify this threat. It was worse than being stabbed by him, raped by him, seeing that he didn't love me.  
  
He hated me.  
  
I know I've been saying how I've been coming to realise the reality of the curse on my Jesse, but it was only then that it took it's catastrophic toll. And it hurt me more than I can say. It ripped me to pieces. It chewed me up and spat me out again.  
  
I was broken.  
  
I tore my eyes away from his, and with another heart-swallowing thump, I saw that Paul was seriously, badly, critically hurt.  
  
I looked back at Jesse, opening my mouth to say something, but he pushed me back, into the waiting arms of Lucifer. He locked me in an iron hold, as I thrashed and screamed for release.  
  
Jesse marched up to Lucifer, and my heart skipped a beat as he extended his hand. 'NO! JESSE, PLEASE! DON'T! THIS ISN'T YOU, YOU'RE CURSED! DON'T DO THIS!!!' I shrieked, my desperation spewing from my acute tones.  
  
I choked on my own spit . . .  
  
Lucifer shook it, and the deal was done.  
  
I was not my own.  
  
I now belonged to the Keeper of Souls.  
  
I stopped thrashing. There was nothing I could do. It wasn't like me to just give up, but I could see the futility of arguing.  
  
'No!' roared Paul, and staggered over, his health increasing by the second, 'Suze!' Jesse rolled his eyes and pummeled his stomach. Paul doubled over.  
  
'Slater, shut up. Do not speak to her,' Jesse growled.  
  
Lucifer felt it was safe to release me, and did so. I sank to the floor, the same word repeating on my lips in denial. 'No.'  
  
Paul, however, wasn't about to give up. Jesse and dematerialized, with promises that they would be back soon and Paul, who was still standing, whispered to me, 'Come on, Suze. It's not like you to let go without a fight. We can get out of this, don't quit now!' His eyes were alive with spirit.  
  
'Paul,' I said, shaking my head up at him. I laughed. I mean, seriously, it was funny how he was so blind to the reality of things, 'I'm stuck here. There's nothing we can do.'  
  
'Suze!' he snapped, and seized my hand, 'It's not going to end like this! You weren't meant to play love-slave to some dude from hell, you were meant to be with-'  
  
'Jesse,' I finished, before he could say another idealistic candidate, 'I was meant to be with Jesse, but you screwed it up. You screwed up my life, Paul.' Again, I laughed. Why were my eyes so wet? 'You screwed up any opportunity I could have had. This isn't anyone's fault but yours, because you were greedy, and- and selfish, and . . .' I broke off. I was crying. Really crying. My tears were globules of corrosive acid, trailing rapidly down my face. Paul pulled me up and into him. I forgot that this was all his fault, and just cried. Cried out the aching that was implanted in my forlorn heart. His arms wrapped around me, and everything just seemed . . . right. I don't know how to explain it, but for a single, idyllic moment, I thought that there might just be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. And, before I could lose my faith, Paul pushed me away slightly so he was looking at my eyes, and said, 'Suze, we're going to get out of here. Nothing's definite until you've been Deleted or something, and even then, I'm sure God negotiates.' I snorted. Wasn't that a line of one of those Drew Barrymore movies?  
  
His eyes were riveted on me. 'You in?'  
  
I took a moment, then answered, 'Yeah, but what do we do?'  
  
Again, I could feel the despair flooding in, but Paul shook me. 'Suze! Stop it! Keep your mind off that, and we just have to think of something . . .'  
  
'Like?'  
  
'Well, we could maybe exorcise them-'  
  
'Paul! I told you, you're not touching Jesse! We're going to break his curse, and that's final! No exorcising Jesse. Lucifer, I don't give a damn about, but Jesse . . .' I trailed off as I saw something in Paul's eyes. It looked like . . . guilt.  
  
'Paul?' I asked slowly, 'What is it? Why are you looking like that?'  
  
Paul's eyes snapped to the floor. 'Like what?' he mumbled, and his grip on my shoulders relaxed. 'I'm just, uh, scared,' he said. Oh, happy day. My fearless saviour was fearful.  
  
'So,' I continued for him to break the awkward silence, 'How are we going to exorcise Lucifer? Couldn't we just stab him with the Ghost Hunter's Knife?'  
  
'No,' Paul replied, 'He, unlike us, is alive. So that cuts out exorcisms too.'  
  
'Oh.'  
  
I looked over at the blade lying innocently on the floor and picked it up carefully, placing it on the seat of the throne. Suddenly, I had an idea . . .  
  
I told Paul.  
  
'No!' he said after I'd revealed my plan, 'No way!'  
  
'Why not?' I asked, he wont suspect a thing.'  
  
'Yeah, but leaving you in a room alone with him? I might not get here in time.'  
  
'Well, it won't be hard,' I said, 'I mean, I can just be pretending to make the most of a bad situation, and then I'll stab-'  
  
'No,' said Paul firmly. Now I was pissed.  
  
'You got a better idea?' I asked, 'And, I don't exactly have to do it like that. I mean, not as sexily as I said, anyway.' Paul's mouth was set in a grim line.  
  
'Okay,' he said, 'But if you need help, you have to call me, okay?'  
  
'Fine,' I said happily, and got the Knife from the throne, slipping it back into my skirt pocket, 'But remember, you won't remember who he is, only I will, because if I stab him with-'  
  
'I know,' he said. 'Okay, they'll be coming back soon. I think Lucifer went to show him what's happening in the real world at the moment. You know, that while we're here, time goes five times as slow-'  
  
'So, since we've been here for-'  
  
'Thirty-six hours,' interrupted Paul smartly, 'If I'm correct in saying that the time is eleven o'clock, then only-'  
  
'-two hours and fifteen minutes have past?' I asked eagerly.  
  
'Yes, so they might not have found our bodies just yet . . .' he said, blinking in surprise, 'I thought you sucked at Maths, Suze.'  
  
Before I could take offense, I saw Lucifer and Jesse rematerialize again. I quickly dropped to the floor, and went back to looking helpless again. Paul turned away rapidly. Lucifer smoothed down his blond hair coolly, looking over at me with a kind of hunger in his eyes. I felt like slapping him nattily, but I had to follow through with the plan. Jesse was looking at Paul suspiciously, and so I took the opportunity to say to Lucifer, 'Can I have a word?'  
  
He blinked, and replied, 'I'm sure that would be possible.'  
  
'Now?' I persisted. Again, he looked knocked for six, but his expression changed to one of sinister complacency. He smirked, 'Well, if you insist, babe.'  
  
Babe?! EW!  
  
Before my disgust could surface on my face, I tried to make my eyes look all secretive and sexy. 'I do insist,' I said, 'can we go somewhere private for a second?'  
  
He looked like Christmas had come early. 'Sure,' he said slightly eagerly. Inwardly, I was vomiting, but outwardly, I let him slip his arm around my waist, and he was guiding me to one of those sarcophagus pillars. I raised my eyebrows as he opened it. I mean, I thought that they were just there for, I dunno, decoration, but no, this one, at least, was a door. It lead to . . .  
  
- Oh, God -  
  
. . . A majestic bedroom. What did he think I was going to tell him?!  
  
Oh well, I had to play along. I let out a giggle, which made his fingers wander from my stomach a little, but I couldn't pull out yet. From the outside, you never would have known that this room was here. I mean, it defied all the rules of space, but I guess that in this hellish world, rules of space weren't relevant.  
  
Seriously, this room was a lot like Paul's had been. Not his bedroom from earth, no the one where Jesse had . . . you know. Except, his colour scheme was red and black. It was very effective, and pretty freaky. I didn't want to, but I went and sat on the edge of the vast bed. I really had thought that, when I said I wanted a private word, he'd send Paul and Jesse away, not lead me to a freakin' private parlour!  
  
Slightly nervous, and not knowing what I was supposed to say, I opened my mouth to talk, but in a swift movement, he'd pushed me on my back! ARGH! Rah! Gerroff! Shoo! He leant over me and began kissing me, working up my top. I tried to respond realistically, but inside, I was screaming in nausea. Well, I shouldn't go that far. Okay, this guy was hot, I'll give him that, but I SO don't go for the sleazy types. Anyway, I just had to wait a bit longer-  
  
Hey! Okay, now he was getting WEIRD. He'd moved me up so that our legs weren't dangling over the side. His cunning face flashed a grin at me, and he went on kissing me. I dug my hand beneath me and fished out the Ghost Hunter's Knife. And, with all the strength I could muster, I plunged the neck into his throat.  
  
Yeah, his throat. I know, yuck, but whatever.  
  
He died pretty quickly, I have to say. And it sure was no picnic having a dead dude laying on top of you. I shoved him off, and waited . . .  
  
Suddenly, something yanked me back by my hair.  
  
'You little bitch!' he said. Okay, this time, (thank goodness,) he wasn't turned on. Now he was just pissed.  
  
'Hey, when you took me you were biting off way more than you could chew, bud,' I snarled, and jumped away from him, holding the Knife firmly. He was advancing on me menacingly. I backed against the wall. Now, I was starting to get scared again . . .  
  
'Susannah,' he said, a sly smile flickering across his lips, 'Come on, be a good girl, hand over the Knife.'  
  
'Hell no,' was my response.  
  
All traces of his smile vanished. 'Give it here, or you'll wish that you'd never been born,' he shouted, his head jerking in rage. He took another slow step toward me.  
  
'Yeah, I'm half wishing that I'd never died at the moment,' I snapped. With that, he leapt at me, and seized my neck. His powerful hand began constricting. I kept the Knife away from him.  
  
'Give it to me!' he roared, spit flying from his mouth. He was strangling me.  
  
'I'll give it to you,' I choked, and with absolutely no remorse, I plunged the Knife into his stomach the way I'd seen Jesse to do . . . well, I don't remember . . .  
  
'NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!' he roared, and then, there was an detonation of fine, golden mist.  
  
He was gone.  
  
Phew!  
  
I slid down the wall, gasping for breath. Then, after a minute, I stood up, and carefully slipped the Ghost Hunter's Knife under Lucifer's pillow. I didn't want there to be any more stabbing between Jesse Paul and myself if I could help it. funnily enough, even Lucifer's corpse had disappeared when I'd stabbed his ghost. I left the dead demon's room.  
  
'Suze?'  
  
I shut the door of the sarcophagus, and looked around. Paul was standing there, glaring at Jesse. Jesse was looking coldly at Paul, a sneer on his face.  
  
'Uh, am I missing something?' I asked slowly.  
  
Jesse's eyes snapped to me, and he said, 'I don't know who you just stabbed with the Ghost Hunter's Knife, Susannah. All I know is that you've destroyed my chances of getting back to life.'  
  
'Oh, well poor you,' I said sarcastically. Jesse lunged at me, but Paul blocked him. 'Da Silva!' he barked, 'Cool it, dude! We have to figure out what we're going to do.'  
  
'I know what I'm going to do,' Jesse grunted, struggling against Paul to get to me, 'I'm going to rip her to shreds!'  
  
'God, Hector, get some anger management,' I snapped, using his real name to annoy him. It worked. 'Okay, so Paul, now is a good time to tell me how to break the curse.'  
  
Paul's eyes widened in alarm.  
  
My heart thudded. 'Paul . . . Please tell me that it's possible,' I said shakily.  
  
Paul let Jesse go, who was staring strangely at the two of us. He ran his fingers through his curly brown hair, and said, 'Well, Suze, that was kind of a . . .'  
  
'A what?' I demanded.  
  
'A lie,' he finished, and to my dread, I saw a stronger look in his eye. It was . . . as though he was through being Mr. Nice-Guy or something. All the blood drained from my face . . .  
  
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That'll about do it. What do you think? REPLY, you gorgeous people! Paul's slipping back over to the dark side again, where he bloody well belongs! 


	22. Face Off!

Hey, guys. We've hit enough reviews for me to post again. On thing, this chapter contains a bit of Spanish. For full translations, go to: . It's very good! Please, don't flame me for this chapter, it's very sad at the end . . . but it might not be the end! Review, or suffer the wrath of . . . uh . . . Just review?  
  
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'Why did you lie to me?' I asked, my voice crackling. I was about to cry . . . Oh God, at the perfect time to be angry, I was going to get an attack of the waterworks.  
  
'Well, how was I going to get you to hate Jesse without hating me just as much?' he asked, shrugging. This was wrong. Ten minutes ago, I'd been hugging him! I was silent for a second, before replying. 'Well, it didn't work. I love Jesse still. Telling me that has only given me reason to still love him.' Jesse looked at me as if I was crazy. Paul merely glowered.  
  
'God, I've been going INSANE, acting all mushy for you, Suze,' Paul said, crossing his arms irately. I was aware that my mouth was ajar, but didn't do anything about it. I was trying to absorb what Paul was saying and not listen to it at the same time. It couldn't be true . . . It couldn't!  
  
But I knew it was.  
  
I had suspected that Paul had been acting weird. Now I knew that it had been all an act. I'd been conned.  
  
I retreated a step, shaking my head at him. 'No . . . you said that you'd find a way to undo the curse . . . that there was a way,' I stuttered, struck dumb.  
  
Paul laughed in a cruel manner. 'Like I said, that was a lie just so I would get what I wanted.'  
  
'And that was?' I asked. I mean, what is it always? But, hey, I was dumbstruck, people, show a little sympathy?  
  
Paul smirked, and shook his head at me. 'I wonder, Suze. I wonder.'  
  
'Call her Susannah, or-' barked Jesse, but Paul cut him off by shooting this really weird blue dust at him with - get this - his eyes! I screamed, as Jesse slumped forward.  
  
'What did you do to him?!' I shrieked, running at him, and shoving him hard, but he dodged my second push and I fell to the ground with a thud. He came to stand over me, I could see his tall shadow black out the dim light. My neck was hurting from looking up and him so much. I glared at him, getting lost in those void eyes of iciest, palest blue.  
  
'He won't be asleep for long,' he reassured me with a smirk. I began to shake slightly. I tried to stand up, but Paul obviously didn't want me standing, if the way he jammed his foot down on my shoulder was any indication. I could see no way out of this. I mean, sure, I'd narrowly escaped Lucifer, the Keeper of Souls, but Paul Slater? Uh, in my opinion, that was WORSE. I mean, yeah, sure, he'd been nice to me lately, but the way he'd just turned on me? Didn't give me the warm fuzzies, if you know what I mean.  
  
'Turn him back!' I shouted at him, distraught, 'Make him right again, ass!'  
  
Paul laughed, looked up, and rubbed his chin before looking down at me again. Once more, I tried to get up, but déjà vu.  
  
'You don't get it, do you?' he whispered to me, his voice like a soft breeze, the calm before the storm. 'Your precious Jesse's gone now. You're my querida now.'  
  
There was something about the way he said that that terrified me. My eyes went wide in horror. Then I went got angry. 'I'm no one's querida but Jesse's!' I cried, and when he tried to kick me back down, I grabbed his foot, twisted it, and pulled him to the floor. Before he could get up, I sat heavily on his chest. He let out a roar of pain. I think he was winded or something, but I knew he'd be okay in a second.  
  
I ran. I didn't know what I was going to do about Jesse; all I knew was that I'd get him back somehow. I had NOT let him go, and I never would. I loved him too much, too deeply by now for that to ever be possible. But yeah, I ran. I ran for that door that we came through.  
  
. . . but it was bolted shut.  
  
'No!' I yelled, bashing my hands on it, willing it to spring open magically, but on go. 'OPEN!'  
  
It didn't.  
  
Practically screaming in desperation, I charged at it like a loose bull, like those cops do on those police programs, but it didn't budge an inch. Spinning around, I saw that Paul was on all fours, panting. He was almost better! With a sudden surge of inspiration, I darted the closest sarcophagus pillar, and to my joy, it opened! But - inside was this dungeon- like place. Uh, I didn't think that my escape would be via there . . . I slammed it shut. I ran to the second one, and a whole spray of water flooded out. The third contained darkness, a growling sound coming from the depths, and so on, until I met the last pillar. I threw the door open wildly, and there facing me, was another one of those stinking portals! Well, any place had to be better than here, didn't it?  
  
I prepared to fling myself into the swirling glittery blackness, but a hand crept around my wrist and whipped my around. Paul stood over me. My eyes flickered up and down him rapidly, and I blinked several times in succession.  
  
'What are you doing?' I demanded.  
  
Paul looked over at the temporarily unconscious Jesse, and smiled slightly.  
  
'Suze, I remember making a certain promise,' he drawled, brushing a strand of my dark hair behind my ear. I jerked away from his fingers. 'You remember it?'  
  
'Yes,' I said slowly, 'How you were going to get me back to life, no matter what it takes.'  
  
'Precisely,' he answered. 'That's why I'm not letting you go in there.' He nodded to the portal, ripples of black glowing mist spiraling into nothing.  
  
'And why is that?' I asked nervously, still trying to yank my wrist back, but as I've had first hand experience before, I knew very well that he had an iron grip. It made it even harder when his spare hand pushed me against him. He leant me against the frame of the portal. I gulped, my breath caught in my throat along with all my spit that I was trying to swallow. I'm a charmer, right?  
  
'Because,' he whispered, his eyes flashing that demonic black again. I stared into them. They were nightmarish, hellish, evil. 'Because, that place will send you straight into a place that you couldn't even begin to imagine.'  
  
'Oh yeah?' I challenged, 'Try me. I'm said to have a very active imagination at times.' Fear laced my voice. I could see it in his eyes that he meant every word he said.  
  
'And, the main reason I don't want you to go in there,' he said, squeezing my back slightly. I gasped softly. ' . . . Is because to get you back to life, we have to send a soul into there. In other words, a ghost. And jumping in there would allow me and Jesse to get back, but not you. You'd be stuck in there facing your worst nightmares, ones that you never dreamed could be humanly possible to put you through.' He gently kissed my forehead. I knew that my defense was deteriorating. I turned my head away from him. Tears threatened to prickle my eyes. I blinked them back hard.  
  
'Well,' I said sarcastically, hoping it would cover up my vulnerability, 'I don't know how we're going to do that. I mean, unless there's a standby ghost willing to jump into a nightmarish dreamland. That's be great, but I doubt that, around a dump like this, you'd find someone that charitable, you know?'  
  
Paul's eyes, if possible, flashed blacker. I felt all courage that I had ebb away into almost nothing. He chuckled slightly, and I could feel it vibrate through his body. 'Well, that's where Jesse comes in.'  
  
My eyes snapped up to him.  
  
'N-No way-' I stuttered, 'Nuh uh, you're not touching Jesse! He's-'  
  
'Suze!' said Paul angrily, grasping my back harder, 'Forget about him. It's over. There's nothing you can do about him. There's no possible way to undo the curse. I made sure of that when I searched for the Curse of Darkness.' He said in a sympathetic tone that sounded almost sincere, but I knew better.  
  
'Yeah,' I said, and with the little remaining strength I had, I gave him an almighty heave, and he stumbled back, tripping over his own feet. 'They should have called you Grace,' I commented, before running to my fallen Jesse.  
  
'Jess,' I hissed in his ear, 'Jess, wake up Jesse. Please, it's important.'  
  
He didn't move. I looked at his eyes. They were still open, but were a horrid white, dead-fish colour. 'Come on, Jesse,' I shook him gently. His head rocked. I swept his hair out of his lifeless eyes.  
  
And then, to my incredulity, he blinked, and his eyes were their normal, ghostly state again. But one look at them told me that the curse was still there. Paul was right.  
  
I'd lost Jesse forever, and oh did I know it.  
  
Shattered, I settled myself in Jesse's arms while he was still groggy. What did it matter if he crushed me when he realized who'd dare come near him? What did it matter anymore?  
  
Tears overflowed my eyelids and spilled down my cheeks. I hate crying. It makes my eyes go all red and puffy, but at times like this, it felt good to let it all out. Like each tear was another memory of me and Jesse, sliding away, where I'd never have to dream about it again.  
  
My memory of when Jesse and me had first met dropped down my face, splashing meaningfully on the cold brick.  
  
Next expired the time where Jesse and I had our first fight after taking on Heather Chambers, where he'd wrapped a handkerchief around my bleeding wound.  
  
Each tear carried away some of the best moments of my life, and just as I felt the time that Jesse and I shared our first kiss slipping away, I felt Jesse being pulled away from me!  
  
'No!' I screamed, as I saw Paul haul Jesse up. Jesse, who's fully woken up by then, asked, 'What the hell are you doing?' in a not very nice way. Paul stared at him, and aimed a perfect punch at Jesse's nose. I squealed, and leapt into the foreseen fray, but Jesse threw me back, yelling, 'Stay out of this, Susannah!'  
  
'No, Jesse!' I yelled, on my bum. 'He's going to - to throw you in that portal!'  
  
Jesse froze, and glared at Paul. 'Is this true?' he demanded, 'All this time, you were working against me?'  
  
Paul grinned triumphantly. 'I work for myself, Da Silva,' he said, as Jesse grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, 'And it's in my best interests to get Suze back to life, isn't it now? I let you have your fun with her, now it's my turn, fair's fair.'  
  
'Vaya mátese, Slater,' growled Jesse in forceful Spanish.  
  
I watched, aghast. They were fighting over me like I was a teddy bear or something! I nibbled my fingers in horror. And when I saw Jesse pummel Paul in the stomach with his knee, I gave a short, sharp shriek.  
  
The fight raged on. Eventually, they knocked over one of the flaming torches. It fell to the floor, and caught on some type of liquid that was on the floor, appearing to be flammable. How convenient.  
  
Not.  
  
It burnt a ring of fire around the three of us. I clutched at my mini in terror. Something told me that this wasn't going to end very nicely. It went on for ages! By the look of it, they were really wearing each other out now. Paul's usually divine brown curls were flecked with ghostly blood, and it taking longer and longer for him to be ably to ethereally heal himself. He was lacking that spectral glow, and was looking particularly dull. And Jesse was no dreamboat either. I mean, apart from the small plus the he'd gotten his shirt ripped in the process of massacring Paul, and the left side of his abs were clearly visible for all to see. But on the downside, he too was looking as though one blow would finish him, and this is my Jesse we're talking about, so that's saying a lot.  
  
The situation reminded me a lot of a bit from Pirates of the Caribbean, how Jack Sparrow and the Captain of the Black Pearl were fighting, and on of them says that they were "two immortals locked in an epic battle," or something along those lines. Well, this was how this battle was looking, but I wasn't exactly sure who was the good guy any more.  
  
Words couldn't describe how I was feeling at that moment. It was finally penetrating me that Jesse was going to remain cursed forever and beyond, unless he was exorcised or something. There wasn't anything I could do any more. But one thing was for sure, I wasn't going to let him get stabbed with the Ghost Hunter's Knife by Paul, and let him raid me of every life- enriching moment that Jesse had blessed my life with. To think that I may never remember locking lips with my love, my "amor," as Jesse says, would be torture.  
  
Let me tell you, I was rudely ripped back to the reality of things when Paul slammed Jesse against the frame of the portal, clutching his neck tightly and digging his nails into him. Jesse was trying to kick him off, but Paul held him at an awkward position. My eyes were affixed to them in numb horror.  
  
No . . . No . . . No . . .  
  
'Well, this is it, Da Silva. You're time's up,' Paul yelled in his face. Jesse thrashed about, but Paul just smashed him into the side of the portal frame again. 'You were never meant to be with Suze-'  
  
'Susannah,' choked Jesse, 'Call her Susannah, usted caga poco-'  
  
But Paul kneed him in the location of male sensitivity. Then he leaned close to Jesse, and continued, this time, in a cruel (and inaccurate, may I say) imitation of me. '"Jesse this, Jesse that. Oh, watch out, Paul, or I'll sic my boyfriend on you. Perfect frickin' Prince Jesse!" So, basically, I've had a lot of competition, you know? Well, Da Silva, the best man won, didn't he? Suze is mine now, and here you are, cursed, not knowing your real feelings for her. It's almost funny, to imagine what would be happening at the moment if you weren't cursed. It would be horrible for me, wouldn't it. And anyway, I doubt Suze will ever be able to look at you the same way after what I made you do to her.' Paul let loose a mad laugh. It was like one of those evil scientist laughs that echo and get louder every few seconds.  
  
'Traeré usted apoya a la vida, Slater. Entonces yo lo mataré otra vez. Y otra vez!' shouted Jesse, thrashing about again, trying to get to him.  
  
'You're on crack,' I said in revulsion, which only served to make Paul laugh harder. Okay, this SUCKED.  
  
'You MADE Jesse do that to me?' I squeaked at him.  
  
Paul stopped laughing, but smirked over at me. 'Sure,' he said, 'I had to do something, you were still in love with him, weren't you?'  
  
I was speechless. I opened my mouth numerous times like a goldfish out of water. My mind was whirling overtime. Then it wasn't Jesse's fault in the least! Paul had been CONTROLLING him! My Jesse's still a pure spirit! Yay!  
  
Oh, crap!  
  
Paul had made a violent swing towards the portal with Jesse, resulting in Jesse' almost falling through. I gasped, and leapt to my feet. No WAY was Paul going to throw him in now that I knew Jesse was COMPELETELY innocent. I was like, 'Hey Paul?' and Paul like, turned around, all like, confused, and I like, socked him one on the, like, nose. Like, brutal, I know, but hey, he like, made Jesse, like, rape me! Oh, if you were wondering, as this was going through my head, all the "like"s were accompanied with vicious collisions of my fist and his face.  
  
'Jesse, run, if you know what's good for you!' I yelled at him. Of course, uncursed Jesse would have insisted on delivering me to safety, but this guy was all out for himself, so it was understandable when me took off for the door like I had done before, but Paul turned, and at the last moment, leapt at his feet, bringing him crashing to the floor by his knees. On the floor, Jesse wrestled Paul off of him, and they rolled over a lot, when, finally, Paul was kneeling over Jesse, looking so deadly, I would never get that mental image of him out of my head. And, to my supreme dismay, he extracted - gag - another Ghost Hunter's Knife from his jacket!  
  
'How - but, the other one - I -' I spluttered, but Paul, again, laughed, as he drew back his arm, ready to strike.  
  
'Well, that other one must have belonged to someone else,' he said, glaring at Jesse with aggressive triumph. 'This one is mine, and right now, I'm going to put it into good use . . .'  
  
His arm came down in slow motion. As it did, every memory, every aspect, every moment I'd shared with Jesse flooded me like I'd just recovered from amnesia. I couldn't lose him! I loved him too much in such a deep, intense, passionate, precious way, and Paul was about to take that from me. With a scream, I declared my undying love for him, and leapt in front of that knife before Paul could take away my incentive to live. I was making the biggest sacrifice of my entire being, but it was all Jesse was worth, and more.  
  
The moment that knife infiltrated my chest, I knew it was over. My heart exploded within my chest, and the pain soared far beyond the laws of suffering! It was  
  
'I love you Jesse,' I gasped into the gold mist that was gushing from me  
  
'Mi Susannah! Permanezca conmigo! No!' roared Jesse from somewhere around me  
  
No . . . No . . . Stay with me, Jesse . . .  
  
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NOW REVIEW!!!!! 


	23. Still a Ghost

A/N: Hey, I KNOW that I usually only write from Susannah's perspective, but in this case, I'm doing it from Jesse's, Paul's AND Suze's, so live with it. Hehehe. Hey, those reviews ROCKED! Lauren and Katie LOVE you people! I'm hoping that it will be about 74 reviews before I post this chapter. Also, at the end, we will be discussing sequels. Katie has written a chapter for the next one, and we've come up with all of these crazy ideas, but we're going to see how you feel about me putting more of my crazy crap onto the net. But we're not there yet, so sit back, relax, and enjoy. Get some popcorn, too!  
  
Last time:  
  
The moment that knife infiltrated my chest, I knew it was over. My heart exploded within my chest, and the pain soared far beyond the laws of suffering! It was  
  
'I love you Jesse,' I gasped into the gold mist that was gushing from me.  
  
'Mi Susannah! Permanezca conmigo! No!' roared Jesse from somewhere around me.  
  
No . . . No . . . Stay with me, Jesse . . .  
  
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Jesse's POV.  
  
'Jesse, run, if you know what's good for you!' Susannah yelled at me. I glanced at Paul, and I could sense the rage it was in. Well, Susannah looked like he was distracting him effectively, so I ran for the door that we entered through. Do not misinterpret me, I am no coward. I just couldn't see the purpose of receiving what I deemed to be an unnecessary emission of my strength on that repugnant little worm, Slater. And why get attacked when Susannah was, well, more than willing to do so in my place? And anyway, she deserved it . . . Oh, as I thought of the way that she ruined my chances of life, my very stomach boiled in loathing.  
  
I was almost there when I felt arms around my knees, pulling me to the floor. I roared, and whipped around, and there was Slater, practically spitting in fury. I rolled my eyes, but he send a pretty powerful fist at me. I returned it, as his hands snaked around my neck.  
  
'My God, Paul,' I growled, as I rolled him over and pummeled him in the stomach - he groaned - 'You are getting more and more pathetic.'  
  
'I am going to rip you apart!' Paul grunted, rolling me back over, and punching me several times in the face. I could hear Susannah squealing. Let me say, she and Paul made a right pair, the spineless fools . . .  
  
These boring gyrations went on for several thrilling minutes. I must say, it felt very therapeutic to be beating the shit out of him, as Susannah would say - excuse that . . . I stopped for a second. For a moment of sheer insanity, it seemed like something very cherished had flickered through my mind, and was gone. But, in that moment of imprudent pause, Paul took the opportunity to kick me back. Before I could get back up and give him a piece of me - several, in fact - he knocked my head rather powerfully. I saw stars momentarily, and fell back. When my eyes opened again, Paul was kneeling over me, wearing the ugliest of scowls, as if he was really, really incensed. I laughed, but then I saw him draw the Ghost Hunter's Knife. Oooh, not good . . .  
  
'How - but, the other one - I -' Susannah faltered desperately. Paul laughed like a crazy man, and was ready to strike . . .  
  
A fire so intensely hot flared up within me, and I felt an emotion so murderous bubbling in the very depths of my heart. I wanted to boil him, churn him, crush him . . .  
  
. . . Destroy him . . .  
  
But suddenly, Susannah leapt in front of me! I didn't see it coming, and neither did Paul. She landed on top of me, and Paul, who couldn't stop in time, plunged the knife deep into her chest.  
  
Everything stopped, like time had frozen.  
  
Then a beam of golden light so blinding focused on me from somewhere far above. A shrill, deafening sound had pierced the silence like a super-sonic noise that made the brain almost explode. I squinted my eyes shut against the brilliance, a kind of melting sensation filled my body, flowing down my veins, pumping in my blood, pounding with my heart. It was like a resurrecting, fortifying feeling that breathed life into me, gave me back my hope, my compassion, my freedom, my goodwill . . .  
  
'I love you Jesse,' she said to me. It sparked something so terribly dear to me, her soft voice uttering those words.  
  
My love for Susannah!  
  
'Mi Susannah! Permanezca conmigo! No!' I roared, as the light around me dimmed. She HAD to stay! I grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around urgently, gazing into those sparkling emeralds. Her hair hung loosely, shining dully. She looked blind, and unfeeling. The Ghost Hunter's Knife was still sticking out of her chest. I carefully pulled it out. It came out with a sick, sucking sound. It was horrible. And, not blood, but a fine trickle of dust was corkscrewing slowly from the knife wound. That was when her eyes fluttered closed.  
  
Paul was deadly still.  
  
'Do something,' I snarled, shaking Susannah, as the current of golden dust increased dramatically.  
  
'I can't,' he whispered softly, his mouth open in horror.  
  
'Para el amor de Dios, DO SOMETHING!' The words exploded from me as the stream of gold dust flooded the room, so there was a fine mist settling down across the entire chamber.  
  
'Da Silva,' said Paul slowly, 'This isn't normal.'  
  
'OF COURSE IT'S NOT-'  
  
'No, if Suze was stabbed by the Ghost Hunter's Knife, why is she still here?' Paul said. I stopped, my breath caught in my throat. Could it be . . .?  
  
'Susannah,' I breathed, holding her head up to my face and laying soft kisses on her forehead, tangling her hair gently in my fingers. If only she would wake again.  
  
'Why?' I asked Paul.  
  
'Why what?'  
  
'Why is she still here?' I yelled at him, jerking with anger.  
  
Paul swallowed, a pained expression on his face. He was staring at Susannah's face. My querida's face . . .  
  
'Well,' he said, his voice not working properly, 'I, uh, think it's because she counteracted the power of the Ghost Hunter's Knife by breaking your curse.'  
  
My eyes widened, and I lowered her head. 'I was cursed?!' I asked with suppressed rage. In fact, I was positively shaking with it.  
  
Paul pulled on the collar of his shirt nervously. 'Yes, Da Silva. You were under the influence of the Curse of Darkness. It divests you of all goodness and purity, and replaces your soul with hatred, anger, and . . . evil. You'll have no memory of it, of course, or anything you did that disagrees with your morality. I think you're the only person to have ever escaped it. You have Suze to thank for that,' he added, looking at her again. We were both watching her chest rise and fall, as she was sprawled lifelessly across my lap. Paul was kneeling beside me.  
  
'Well,' I said calmly, 'What is going to happen to her now?' I had no memory of anything that Paul had done at that moment, so I wasn't as angry with him as I should have been. But by God, if I had have know, there would have been hell to pay . . .  
  
Paul stood up, and looked around. The fire that they'd knocked over before was still blazing, flickering light across his shadowed face. 'Da Silva,' he said, running a hand through his hair, 'I honestly don't know. But, I'm hoping just as much as you are, that there's a way to get her back to-'  
  
Without warning, there was a noise like a pistol shot. No, a cannon fire! The noise echoed thunderously off the chamber walls, and knocked me back, and then with the most dazzlingly brilliant of flashes, we were all back in Susannah's room.  
  
**************************************************************************** *************  
  
Paul's POV.  
  
(AN: I know, I'll get back to Susannah's later, sorry for being messy . . .)  
  
After than huge flash of light, we were somehow all transported to Suze's room. Just one thing was different . . .  
  
I was alive again.  
  
And so was Jesse.  
  
'Da Silva, you're not a ghost anymore,' I drawled, and stood up. I flexed my fingers, and bent down to pick up something, anything. My fingers grasped a bottle of Suze's nail polish. I tried levitating it.  
  
Nothing.  
  
I tried running my hand through it.  
  
Nothing again. I was definitely back to life.  
  
I cast my eyes over to Jesse and Susannah . . . and stopped dead.  
  
Like I said before, Jesse was alive, but Suze . . . Her ghost was still lying limply in Jesse's arms, and her corpse was surrounded by a pool of her blood, which was dark, dark red, almost brown. My mouth fell open.  
  
'What happened?!' Jesse demanded, 'Why is she still dead?'  
  
I shrugged, acting a lot more casual than I felt. 'Not a clue.'  
  
Jesse's glaring gaze fixed on me. 'Wake her up, Slater, or I swear to God, I'll-'  
  
'Da Silva,' I snapped, 'I can't do anything. It's not up to me to do.'  
  
'Who's it up to, then?' he spat, standing up, carrying her so that her legs dangled over his left arm, and her head over his right.  
  
I scowled at him. 'I'm not super shifter genius, okay?' I retorted, my lip curling, 'I don't know what you're going to do, but you're going to have to do it on your own.' I didn't know what I was saying, really. Like I wouldn't move heaven and earth just to help Suze. I would, I really would, but I was reacting badly to the possibility that she might really be gone. I knew that it really was all my fault.  
  
'I'm going,' I announced, and was halfway through dematerializing, when Jesse said, 'Wait, por favor.'  
  
I stopped. 'What now?'  
  
He stroked his thumb across her forehead, speaking in soft Spanish. 'What do you think I should do, Slater? I know that you care for her at least a bit. So, if you really do, you'll want to help her wake.'  
  
I glared at him. How dare he . . .  
  
'Shut up, Da Silva,' I yelled, and left in a flash of spectral light.  
  
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Jesse's POV:  
  
As Slater dematerialized, I felt like the world had stopped spinning. All remaining hope drained from me. I couldn't bare to look at her dead body. I sat wordlessly down on her bed, and lay her gently in front of me, running my hand down the side of her soft face. Her face was so beautiful, so celestial . . . like an angel sent from heaven.  
  
And to think that she'd just been to hell and back.  
  
Why were my eyes so wet?  
  
'Susannah,' I whispered, blinking, and a solitary tear fell on her face. 'Susannah, please.' Then, I felt angry.  
  
Angry, angry, ANGRY!!  
  
It's Paul's fault! He cursed me, and brought us all to hell!  
  
It's my fault! I couldn't do anything to stop it!  
  
It's Susannah's fault! She sacrificed herself for me, when there was no point to do so, seeing as life was not worth living without her. Didn't she know that?! Didn't she care?  
  
Of course she cared . . .  
  
She just cared too much.  
  
'Susannah,' I said, lifting up her hand, and kissing her fingers. How could she do this? I wasn't worth any of this, I didn't deserve it.  
  
I bowed my head, and screwed up my face against the terrible aching in my heart. It felt empty, like something had just been removed from it, leaving that place vacant and blank and cold.  
  
Then, without warning, her hand gave mine the tiniest of squeezes. My eyes snapped open, and to my supreme joy, I saw those magnificent emeralds blink lazily at me. My soaring heart danced within me, and I hoisted her up and twirled her around, laughing and yelling in exhilaration. She laughed too, giggling giddily, and clutching the back of my neck with soft, curling fingers.  
  
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Susannah's POV again.  
  
When we stopped spinning and laughing, we collapsed on her bed together. I let out a huge sigh of relief. My head rested on his shoulder, and his strong arm was around me. It felt so good to be in his loving arms again.  
  
'I thought I'd lost you,' he confessed ruefully.  
  
'I know.'  
  
He sat up, and pulled me into him, so I was leaning against his chest. 'I love you so much,' he breathed in my ear. I beamed at him. He entwined my hair in his fingers gently. For a few blissful minutes, we just sat there, then, he turned to face me.  
  
'Susannah, why on earth did you do that?' he asked seriously, his eyebrows lowering sternly.  
  
I looked away.  
  
'I had to,' I whispered, hiding my face with my hand.  
  
He pulled my hand away from, and locked my wrist in a firm grasp. 'Why?'  
  
I drew a shuddering breath. 'Well, Paul was going to stab you with that freaking Knife, wasn't he? I mean, I totally didn't want you getting offed by Paul, and especially not if you were getting stabbed with that thing, because then I wouldn't remember you, and my memories of you has been the best of my life, and I couldn't let Paul take that away from me, and . . . thought you were cursed?'  
  
I looked back into his eyes, and was startled to see that he looked bewildered.  
  
'I think I only caught the words, "freaking", "Paul", "memories", and "cursed",' he said awkwardly, and then, he burst out laughing.  
  
I pouted at him. 'Hey, I talk fast. So what? You just have to learn to keep up.' I crossed my arms and looked away from him. I know, I was acting like a brat, but I was annoyed. I'd just made this, like, huge sacrifice, and he laughs? How rude!  
  
Jesse stopped laughing. 'Just like old times,' he smirked, 'I could never understand a word you said.'  
  
'Well, thanks,' I muttered, standing up, and walking away from him. Then, with a horrible jolt, I saw my dead body, bloodied and pale.  
  
I was still a GHOST!  
  
I shrieked, and stumbled back. Jesse caught me just before I landed on my butt, and pulled my back up.  
  
'But, Jesse, you're alive, I thought we all were, why am I still a freaking ghost? How am I going to get back alive? What will MUM say? And Andy? And Doc, and Dopey, and Sleepy? I bet dopey won't even miss me, but . . . I mean, I thought-'  
  
'Susannah!' he cut of sternly, shaking my shoulders. I stopped babbling. I was full on crying now, and kept hiccuping. He rubbed my back soothingly.  
  
'Jesse, I thought everything was going to be all right,' I said softly, sniffing. 'But it's worse. I mean, yeah, you're alive, I'm really glad about that . . . But I'm going to miss everyone so, so much . . .'  
  
I buried my face into my hands and backed away from him. When I felt the wall behind me, I slid down it, and just stared at myself, lying motionlessly near the window seat. My face was so white, and my hands were so stiff. It was horrible, like something out of a nightmare . . . accept, this wasn't a nightmare.  
  
It was about as real as it could get.  
  
'Querida,' Jesse said quietly, 'We'll find a way. Everything's going to be al-'  
  
'NO IT'S NOT!' I exploded, leapt up, and pushed him, so he fell back. 'It's NOT!'  
  
Then, perfect timing, Paul Slater materialized right in front of me.  
  
'Suze!' he said, grinning happily, 'You're-'  
  
'Dead,' I finished bitterly for him. 'And it's all your fault. Look at me - no, not ME, over THERE!' I turned his head so that he was looking at the dead me.  
  
'You see that?! All you. I'm dead. I'm gone. I'm a FREAKING GHOST!' I kneed him in the nuts, really, REALLY hard, hoping that he might realize that I wasn't too jazzed with him at the current time. Boy did he get the message. He fell back on top of Jesse.  
  
And then, even more perfect, my MUM opened the door of my bedroom. She took one look at the picture before her, two guys in the room, and her daughter, very much so dead, and screamed the place down.  
  
'AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDDYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! SSSSSSSUUUUSSSSSIIIIEEEE'SSSS D-D- DEEEEEEEEAAAAAAADDDDDD!!!!!!  
  
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The plot thickens . . . Yeah, not quite finished yet . . . hey, I don't want to update with the next chappie until I have EIGHTY (80) reviews, okay? Think you can manage that? Pretty please? I know, I'm so evil, but PLEASE, review? *Puppy eyes?*  
  
I'm almost finished! And by the way, fluff's a-coming! 


	24. Battle of the Brave

Yo, yo. I know, I was very cruel, leaving it like that for so long, but I'm in a very, very good mood! I've just finished a story that I had writer's block for, for three months! Not to boast, but I really like it. If you want it, email me. (shadowprincess_lauren@hotmail.com.) It's kind of the same style as Mediator, so you should all like it, and it's got a stereotype Jesse, a stereotype Suze, and a stereotype Paul in it. Anyway, enough with my joyous ramblings, on with the story! (Even though I should be studying.)  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Everything happened SO fast.  
  
Andy, Doc, Dopey and Sleepy came running in, falling over each other, way domino style. Mom was like, still screaming. I was staring at her, aghast, and Paul and Jesse were trying to disentangle themselves.  
  
Andy got up, and marched over to them.  
  
'Tell me what happened, or I'm calling the police!' he roared in Paul's face.  
  
'Yeah, what the hell happened, Slater?!' yelled Dopey, jabbing his finger at him. Only, he didn't say "hell." But it wasn't like he was going to get punished or anything.  
  
Mom then passed out.  
  
Doc, who's mouth was wide in horror, was only staring at Jesse.  
  
'You're him.' he breathed, clinging to Jake, 'You're Hector Da Silva, aren't you.'  
  
Jesse's eyes were goggling. 'I.I am, David. Explain to them what has happened, please?'  
  
'NO!' yelled Paul, and at that moment, he jerked away from Andy, stood up, and blasted my whole family with a scintillating yellow light. They all collapsed to the floor.  
  
'PAUL!' I squealed, biting my fingernails, 'What did you do to them?! You killed them! You-'  
  
'Suze, SHUT UP!' he yelled, coming over to me and offering his hand. I refused to accept it, so, frustrated, he grabbed my by the arm and very roughly yanked me up. I was WAY thrashing about. Then Jesse came to the rescue. He gave Paul a very well deserved knuckle sandwich. Paul spun onto the window seat.  
  
'Calm down, Da Silva!' snapped Paul, massaging his cheekbone. '.Shit, you didn't have to do that so hard, I'm trying to help! I haven't killed them,' he scoffed, 'They're in a state where, when they wake up, they'll think it was all a dream.'  
  
'Funny if they wake up and they realize they've all had the same dream,' I said in angry sarcasm.  
  
'Yeah, well, I've added other stuff in there too,' Paul replied. I looked over at my mom. I felt so bad. How could I have done this to her? First dad, and now me. Was she ever going to get over it? I mean, losing dad like that had almost been the end of her. I was her only daughter!  
  
That's when. I don't know why, but I ran from that room. I couldn't be in there still, with Paul. I jumped right out of the open window, and ran for my life to. well, I didn't know where I was going, but I had to get out of there.  
  
That's when I found myself in the cemetery.  
  
**************************************************************************** ************  
  
I was there for several hours, staring at the blank gravestone. Jesse's gravestone. His name had been erased completely, and there was no indication that there had been any inscription on there. His coffin seemed to have been dug up, and was now gaping open. There was no horrible, decomposing skeleton in there anymore. It was empty  
  
Above me, the full moon was trying to peak through a think canopy of black clouds. The trees all around were swaying in a haunting rhythm. The wind was whistling, threatening me. A cold layer of fog not unlike the fog in the Shadowland blanketed me, and everything surrounding me. I was still breathing heavily, trying to make sense of the hell I was living.  
  
I was dead. A ghost. A spirit, the undead. Never again would I talk to CeeCee, joke with Adam, spend hours on the phone to Gina, paint my nails, blow-dry my hair every morning, and defend the kids at the Mission Academy from Kelly Prescott's ditziness. I'd never eat any of Andy's scrummy dinners, or go to movies with my friends. My life has slipped away through my very fingers.  
  
And there was nothing I could do about it.  
  
'Querida.'  
  
My unbeating heart seized up. I wanted to be alone.  
  
'Go away.' I muttered, stifling a seriously embarrassing sob that was destined to come out. Jesse's hands slid over my shoulders. I stared determinedly away from him.  
  
'Querida, why won't you look at me?' he said again. He too gazed at his vacant gravestone. I blinked back tears. It was so hard to believe that this was the Jesse who'd been cursed. I remembered his malice, his immorality, his ruthlessness. How he'd forced himself on me, and the terror that I'd felt. How he'd dragged me through the fire, just to spite Paul.  
  
'Do you know what happened when you were cursed?' I asked softly, still not looking at him.  
  
'No.'  
  
I released a shuddering breath. 'Yeah, well, you don't wanna know.'  
  
His hands tensed on my shoulders.  
  
'Susannah,' he said slowly, 'What did Paul make me do?'  
  
I was silent.  
  
'Susannah! Tell me!' he said, pulling me up, and spinning me around. The feel of his hands was so gentle, compared to what it had been. I still evaded his gaze like the plague.  
  
'Susannah, I need to kn-'  
  
'You forced yourself on me, okay?!' I yelled, glaring at the ground. 'Happy? There you go, you know, now go away, I need to think what I'm going to do with my death. Buh-bye.'  
  
When he wouldn't let go of me, I looked up to glare at him, and saw his face. It was white, and was positively shaking in rage that he was battling to suppress. His hands were going claw-like around my arms.  
  
'Jesse, just-'  
  
'THAT BASTARD!' he roared into the night, 'I'LL KILL HIM!' He broke away from me, and went to dematerialize when I snatched up his hand.  
  
'Jesse, NO! He'll kill you, and I couldn't let that happen to you again!' I breathed. Jesse looked at me like I were crazy. 'Susannah, don't you realize what he's done? This is worse that anything-'  
  
'I know, but nothing is worth losing you! I don't care if I stay dead forever, it'd be fine as long as you were here beside me!' I yelled at him, and then stopped dead. My eyes gaped.  
  
'P-P-P-Paul.' I stuttered, as his shadowy figure emerged from the mist. His aura was completely black. It radiated from him in waves of silent but deadly anger. I took a step back. He marched right up until he was face to face with Jesse.  
  
'You want me dead, man? You want to kill me? Well, fine. Let's have it all out now. Winner gets Suze,' he growled viciously, shooting Jesse a glare that made my spine creep with dread. It didn't look good for either of them. If they fought, both had equal chances of winning, because they were both fueled by hate.  
  
I shook my head slowly. 'Jesse, don't do it. Don't do it, Jesse!' I was in shock. How, after everything that had happened, could this be happening?  
  
Don't accept, Jesse.  
  
'If you think that I would be as daft to make Susannah a prize that could possibly be won by you, Slater, you have a more screwed up head than I ever though it possible for a human being to have,' Jesse snarled, and reached out for me.  
  
.But Paul got there first.  
  
'Get your damned hands off of me!' I yelped, as he picked me up around the waist and threw me over his shoulder. I was no match for him.  
  
'Querida!' Jesse yelled, and launched himself at Paul, but Paul leapt to the side.  
  
'I don't think that's very wise, Da Silva. Little Susie could get seriously hurt,' Paul laughed. That was when the rain started to spit down. Oh, and the lightning.  
  
Jesse just stood on the damp soil, beside his empty coffin. 'You wouldn't hurt her,' he said confidently, 'that would be contradicting all of your actions. And besides, she's a ghost. You cannot harm her.'  
  
Paul gave a mock sigh. 'Wrong again, Hector,' he said. 'I can hurt her. You see, I'm more powerful than you. I know certain curses that ONLY work on ghosts such as Miss Simon. So I'd be pretty careful if I were you. Now, be a man. Do you accept my bet? And I won't hurt her. unless you lose.'  
  
Jesse stood there, looking torn.  
  
'Don't do it Jesse! He'll kill you! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Just-'  
  
'Shut up, Suze!' Paul said, and gave me a brutal shake. I screamed. It wasn't hurting me, but it was scaring me.  
  
'You're on, Slater,' Jesse said. 'Battle to the death, winner gets Susannah. But you have to swear she'll be safe.' Suddenly, lightning struck a nearby tree, illuminating it, and sending it crashing down, destined to land on Paul and I, but he moved just in time. He set me down, with his arm around my neck, as he shook Jesse's hand.  
  
Their hands both glowed red, and Jesse withdrew his quickly.  
  
Paul just smirked slightly. 'Now, this is getting interesting.  
  
That's when he threw me into Jesse's empty coffin, and slammed the lid closed. I sank into darkness.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***  
  
A/N. I know, I'm terrible with climaxes. I can't leave a big thing alone, I have to keep continuing it. Oh well, it's nearly done, and sorry I've taken so long to update, I've had exams all this week. I know, it's criminal to be getting exams this hard in the eighth grade, but yeah. Well, REVIEW NOW! No flames, lots of nice things. Oh, by the way, me and Katie love long reviews, so pile 'em on! Can we get the reviews to 90 before I do though? Don't care if you review twice or whatever. I just love being loved! Ciao, won't be too long updating this time I promise.  
  
Lauren & Katie. 


	25. Banishment

Jesse's POV.  
  
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'No!' I yelled, as I saw what he was going to do a split second before he did it. Susannah fell into the coffin with a loud thud, and Slater slammed the door closed, before kicking a pile of wet soil over the top. I could still hear her screaming . . . Mi Susannah se atrapó!  
  
I lunged at him, spitting with rage. 'You promised she'd be safe, usted mal que barre mestizo!'  
  
Slater dodged my abuse, smirking evilly. He stood very tall and proud, and looked mighty pleased with himself.  
  
'She is safe, Da Silva. I just . . . uh, didn't want her to have to witness your death, you know?' he said smoothly, taking a step toward me. Lightning flashed violently around me, illumining the sky for milliseconds before it returned to a ghostly darkness, and casting his face into darkness again. Heavy clouds drifted quickly past the full moon, and in the distance, I heard all the Carmel dogs howling.  
  
Panting slightly with fear, I snarled, 'I do not intend to lose to you, Slater. Yes, I agree that the lady should not witness a horrific death tonight. Mind you, I have not been know to be the violent type, however, for your sake, I'll have to temporarily ignore my morals. This is just between you and me, Slater . . . Apenas entre usted y mí . . .'  
  
Slater blinked, and then began to laugh dully. 'Oh, Da Silva, I have no intention of fighting for her, uh, on my own. It's a dog eat dog world, and I'm going to play dirty to get what I want . . .'  
  
I froze immediately. 'What are you saying?' I asked dangerously.  
  
Slater grinned, and looked humorously around the graveyard. 'Well, let's just say that I have a lot of people in low places . . .' With that, he jammed his eyes shut, and looked right up into the stormy sky, which crackled perilously with electricity.  
  
Suddenly, to my abject horror, I saw a hand erupt from the grave beside me. The ghost of a rather alarming man forced himself out of the ground, looking quite murderous. I realized that all the graves in the cemetery were suffering this fate. These spirits seemed to have been ripped back from their final destinations, just to aid Slater. Nombres di Dios, I even saw Felix Diego! But not Maria, funnily enough . . . I wondered why she wasn't there also, for she definitely hated me enough to want a third chance to get rid of me.  
  
'Hello Hector,' he greeted me with a curt, loathing nod, advancing on me. All these spirits surrounding me seemed to be casting me looks of hatred, even the small children that were drawing very near to me. Slater and I were the only two that were still alive.  
  
'Kill him!' roared Slater, pointing dynamically at me, and with what sounded like war cries, all the ghosts charged at me.  
  
Most of these ghosts very obviously amateurs, seeing as they all tried to physically strike me first, but I wasn't a mediator. This was Susannah's life that I had, and it wasn't fully my own, so I could only see and hear these ghosts, but not touch them. So, it wasn't bad, with hands and feet swiping through me for the first two minutes, but I was much aware that these ghosts had made realizations when one seized a tomb stone and swiped it at my head. I squatted down, but only just in time. I glared over at Slater, who was standing back, his eyes in dark slits of wicked glee, and his arms crossed, a dark aura radiating from him. My eyes were wide with shock. What could I do?  
  
Suddenly, I had an idea. Maybe I could try and materialize? I squinted my eyes shut, and willed myself to be elsewhere, just like I had done in ghosthood. And, to my relief and amazement, it worked. I was transported to the far corner of the cemetery, which succeeded to bewilder the enraged spirits.  
  
'He's over there!' yelled Slater in anger, and the heated cries began again. I looked over at one ghost, who looked like he was before my time, even. He was a full-blown cowboy, with the hat, the rope, the spurs, everything. A clap of thunder stopped them all in their tracks, however, and the light pole in the middle of the graveyard was flickering dangerously with electrical energy. Suddenly, I had a plan. I wasn't certain of how triumphant it would turn out to be, but I had no other options.  
  
As they continued their rampage towards me, I dived at the cowboy, and seized the rope that hung from his waist. Unfortunately, the very end was attached to him . . . No matter! Using that as a tool, I dragged him to the light pole, and then I ran in a circle around all the ghosts, so that they were all tied messily to the light pole with the ghostly rope. It took all my strength to hold them all there, but strength was one thing I had plenty of. They were all yelling in protest, and Slater was watching, his mouth wide.  
  
'You may be interested to know, Slater,' I yelled at him over the screaming of the spirits, 'that of all of earth's elements, fire, wind, water, rock and so on . . . only electricity affects the undead. I know this, having witnessed a ethereal friend of mine getting struck by lightning.'  
  
Slater blanched horribly.  
  
'So, let us see if I was only hallucinating!' I roared, tugging the spectral rope, and right on cue, a powerful bolt of deadly electricity struck the top of the light pole, traveled down the metal, and spread across the sea of trapped spirits. I let go of the rope just before it reached me. The bulb fizzled out completely, and all the ghosts immediately evaporated. I assumed that they had all moved on again. Lightning is very useful at times like these . . .  
  
Slater stood in appalled fascination. I dusted my hands on my pants, breathing heavily.  
  
At last he spoke.  
  
'Nice party trick, Da Silva,' he said icily, his face contorting in hatred, 'But you'll have to do better than that!'  
  
'La quemadura en el infierno, Slater,' I snarled, somehow suppressing my rage.  
  
And at that moment, I heard my Susannah scream.  
  
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Susannah's POV.  
  
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I was terrified. I didn't know what was happening to Jesse or Paul on the ground level. I couldn't believe that anything like this could still happen to me, after everything that I'd been through in . . . well, I don't know where it was, actually, but yeah. This was way too freaky! I could have been claustrophobic, but did Paul even stop to think about any possible fears that I might have? Oh, no, just let Paulie get whatever Paulie wants, because Paulie is all scawy and powerful, and is the biggest jackass ever known to human freakin' kind!  
  
And he was going to kill me Jesse!  
  
I tried kicking against the coffin roof, but I couldn't. I couldn't even move through it anymore! I was totally trapped, and I had no way of escaping. I was in their for ages. I mean, who would have known that terrifying situations could be so boring?  
  
Then, all of a sudden, the lid burst open, and I felt myself flying out. I screamed, and I saw Jesse's head whip around to face me. I sprawled out on the grass, and looked around to see that the cemetery looked like a war zone. All the graves were dug up, or something! What, did priests put, like, spells on coffins so ghosts can't get out or something? Mind you, they probably did . . .  
  
Then, as per usual, I felt Paul's arms slide around my waist, and haul me up. I wheezed as he squashed me right against him.  
  
'On second thought,' he said, 'I think Suze can watch this. So she can see who's the real man. So she can see what happens when stupid little ghosts piss of Paul Slater-'  
  
WHACK.  
  
Paul staggered after my lash out. Now I was pissed . . .  
  
'Jesse is NOT stupid!' I screamed at Paul, kicking him in the stomach, 'And I sincerely hope that he is not little, and even if he is, I'll love him anyway!'  
  
Did I just say that?  
  
Ew . . .  
  
That was when I saw something that gave me great relief.  
  
Strolling toward me, Jesse, and Pauls' turned back, was . . .  
  
Father Dom!  
  
In his hand, he held two objects that caused a warmth to swim throughout my entire body. In his left hand, he held a large metal club, and in the other, he held a book. Silently, he placed the book down, and began to approach Paul, trying not to get his attention. Jesse's eyes were wide.  
  
Then, just as Father Dom was about to strike, he stepped on a twig. Paul was halfway through turning around when impulsively, I did the only thing a girl can do to get a guy's undivided attention. It was shameful, and was a completely disgusting thing to do in front of Jesse, but yeah.  
  
I flashed him.  
  
I KNOW! It was gross, but it sure caught his eye, all right. It was nauseating, how he was leering at them . . . them being . . . well, you know.  
  
But, most regrettably, it shocked poor Father Dom so much that he felt it was necessarily to yell 'Susannah!' in this totally aghast way. And that completely made my action pointless.  
  
Paul spun around furiously.  
  
'You!' he roared at the priest, and jumped at him, knocking him to the ground. Father Dom managed to bash his head on a gravestone, intelligent thing that he is, rendering his with a mild concussion. Well, if the way he started jibbering like an idiot was any indication. Jesse ran in, and threw Paul off Father Dom, and began hell laying into him, pummeling him in the guts heavily. Paul was groaning. I crawled over to Father Dom, and seized his book.  
  
'Father D, can you hear me?' I asked desperately, holding up his head. I saw that it was bleeding.  
  
'Yes, I can hear you Susannah, will you pass me a pineapple,' he said dazedly.  
  
I looked at him in bewilderment. 'Are you sure you can understand me?'  
  
'You are coming perfectly clear to me, Sister Ernestine!' he snapped, and began to talk gibberish again. I rolled my eyes. Maybe I could get something out of him while Jesse was, uh . . . keeping Paul busy.  
  
'What page do I turn to in your book for instructions on how to do an exorcism?' I asked him quickly.  
  
'None of that voodoo business, young lady! A good catholic exorcism, I want! Flying chickens!' he scowled.  
  
'Yes!' I said in frustration, 'I'm doing a good catholic exorcism, now tell me what page to go to!'  
  
Then, he sat up, massaged his head, and looked very sane all of a sudden. 'Susannah, it isn't time for a exorcism. It is at times like these that one must resort to more desperate measures-'  
  
'What?!' I asked urgently.  
  
Then again, his eyes rolled to the left. 'Now, Adam, kindly do not refer to Sister Ernestine as a broad,' he said vaguely.  
  
'This is hopeless!' I shouted, and slicked through the book myself. Exorcisms . . . exorcisms . . . where do I find ex-  
  
Huh? I stopped at a page that was sub-headed "Banishment." I skimmed the first lines.  
  
"This is to only be used as a last resort, and is only to be used on the living. It will be ineffective to the undead. Banishment evicts the soul of a living person from their body, and simply banishes them to a section of Hell that is unnamed, and is otherwise refered to as the Realm of Eternal Suffering. Banishment is irreversible, and should only be used to evict possessive spirits from people, and never as a weapon. It is against the Catholic religion to use this, but has sometimes been necessary. The Christ was said to have immediate powers to do this, if ever Satan possessed one of his people. The Banish one's soul, you must maintain full view of them, and repeat these following words until the soul of the possessive spirit has been expelled from the body. Incantation: Ablegatio, pectus, regnum, aeternus, calamintosus!"  
  
Well, it looked like this was the gold. Father Dom's eyes glazed over. Well, it Was up to me now . . . Slowly, I picked up the book, and held it right in front of my eyes. I tentatively tried all of the pronunciations, and then, I raised a furious gaze to Paul, who'd succeeded to throw Jesse off, and was now beating the crap out of him. Not good!  
  
I began whispering, 'Ablegatio, pectus, regnum, aetrnus, calamintosus . . . ablegatio, pectus, regnum, aeternus, calamintosus . . .' Instantly, I saw Paul begin to glow black. My mouth fell open, and his skin began to become translucent, so I was able to see all the muscles and the ligaments and stuff. It was gross, but I realized that I had to keep repeating. Paul stopped, looked at his hands, and somehow, realized basically what I was doing.  
  
'Suze, don't you dare!' he roared, throwing Jesse off of him entirely, and running over to me. I squeaked the word pectus, but I kept going. After about twenty repetitions, I'd memorized the Latin phrase, but I kept going. 'Ablegatio, pectus, regnum, aetrnus, calamintosus . . . ablegatio, pectus, regnum, aeternus, calamintosus . . . Ablegatio-'  
  
'Suze, stop now, or I'll exorcise you!' Paul hissed, knocking the book to the ground below. Thunder cracked and rolled deafeningly, but I persevered.  
  
'SUZE!' he roared, and seized me around the waist, throwing me against a tree - I screamed the word aeternus, but kept going - and yelling bloody murder, as his muscles and veins began translucent also, so that his skeleton was now visible! I mean, whoa!  
  
'SUZE! I'LL TAKE YOU WITH ME! I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN WITH ME! YOU WON'T LIVE THROUGH THIS!' Paul roared in my face, trying to get me to stop the incantation, but I wouldn't. And that was when his bones seemed to turn invisible, and all that was left was a jet-black swarm of darkness. I assumed that it was his soul, and was black to indicate its sinfulness. That was when it tried to fly into me, like, through my eyes and through my mouth, but Jesse managed to swipe it away. Alas, a little bit of the black mist made its way into me, and instantly, I felt a bit of malevolence. I kept repeating the Latin words over and over again, until most of the mist began to turn to ash, and Paul's body reappeared as normal. It crumpled to the wet ground. Once I felt it was safe, I stopped chanting, and slid down the tree in horror.  
  
'Jesse, are you all right?' I asked weakly, looking over at him.  
  
Jesse nodded, staring at Paul in suspicion. 'What did you do, Susannah?'  
  
'I dunno,' I said, 'I think I Banished him, or whatever. Read this, you might understand it more than me.' I passed him the book. I watched his eyebrows go up.  
  
'Verdict?' I asked.  
  
'What do you mean?'  
  
'Oh, um, what do you think? Did I do the right thing?' I corrected myself.  
  
Jesse frowned. 'Well, I hardly think that Father Dominic will approve of this specific method, but then, he was the one who was about to thump Slater over the head with a metal club. Hardly the actions of a catholic priest.'  
  
I snorted. 'Yeah, you're right. But, do you know what happens to him now? Do you know if he's still alive?' I asked nervously.  
  
Jesse examined Paul more closely. 'I think that he is still breathing, but his soul has been removed. He, as far as I know, will have no personality. He is now very vulnerable to ghost entrance, for he is a vacant body. It is the requirement of soul transference, basically, except this is very simple for a ghost to take over him now. Hope he gets someone who'll treat him as he deserves,' he added hatefully. Then, he looked back at me and smiled sexily. Well, he meant it to be a nice, caring, loving smile, but how could Jesse help being sexy?  
  
He extended a hand, and gently helped me to stand. He locked me in a tight embrace, and didn't let go for several minutes. I wanted to stay in his grasp forever, because I felt so safe and wanted, but after a while, he did break away to stare down at my face.  
  
And then I remembered the reality of the situation.  
  
I was a ghost.  
  
'Well, I guess you've finally gotten your life back. So what if I'm not there with you, I've had a good life. Short, but still nice. It's your turn to be happy,' I said, trying to sound enthusiastic for him and look like I wasn't about to dissolve into tears. He wasn't buying it though.  
  
'Susannah,' he said seriously, and looked incredibly pained, as though these words were the most valuable words he'd ever spoken, 'As much as I want my life back, I will not take yours. You are only sixteen, and you will not forfeit your life to me. Not a chance, querida. Yo no causaré que usted aflija.'  
  
I smiled sadly. 'Well, there's nothing we can do . . . Welcome to Carmel, 2003, Jesse.'  
  
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Well, there's only ONE more chapter to go after this. You HAVE to review, guys, I want it up to at least 98, okayz? We love you all so much for the awesome reviews you've been doing. We're finally on holidays! We got through Year 8 without too many bruises, and we're going to Year 9 next year. Wish us luck!  
  
You guys are all beautiful people, and we love the fact that you take the time to give us feedback on our writing. We sincerely hope that you've enjoyed reading this as much as we've enjoyed writing it. We hope to see you in another fanfic, but hey! What am I on about? There's still one more to go.  
  
AND THERE'S GONNA BE FLUFF, I GUARANTEE!!!!  
  
Love Lauren & Katie. 


	26. Jesse's Sacrifice Last chapter

Yo, is any body else ecstatic that bunny_girl has updated Rebirth? Anyway. ^_^  
  
This is it. Don't forget to review at the end, guys! Don't flame me for anything . . .  
  
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'Susannah? Jesse?'  
  
I tore away from Jesse, and spun to face a glowering Father Dominic.  
  
'Hello, Father Do-'  
  
'Susannah! Please tell me that you did not just Banish Mr Slater's soul!' he said furiously, looking very scary for a priest.  
  
'Okay, I won't tell you,' I answered weakly.  
  
His face swelled and began to go a nasty red colour. 'Susannah! That was not the situation for a Banishment! Now Mr Slater won't be able to "be" any more! You have basically killed him! It is against our Catholic belief to banish an innocent-'  
  
I snorted, and looked over at Jesse derisively, who was frowning still about the whole I'm-alive-and-Susannah-is-not thing. 'Father Dom, Paul was about as innocent as Satan setting a booby trap. I seriously think you need to get out more.'  
  
He looked even more furious. 'But-But-But it's not the point! Under no circumstances must you Banish a living person! And-' he stopped dead, looking me up and down. 'Susannah . . . why are you glowing? You didn't exorcise yourself again, did you?'  
  
I shut my eyes and sighed. 'Father, can we not talk about that now . . . I'm trying to forget about it.'  
  
'Forget about what?' he asked abruptly, taking a step closer, and putting a hand on my shoulder.  
  
'She's dead,' said Jesse bluntly, looking very solemn.  
  
Father Dom drew a sharp breath, his eyes wide with horror. 'Susannah! No, it can't be! What will your mother say? And your step-family! How-'  
  
'It was Paul's fault!' I shouted, my eyes brimming. I jerked from Father Dom's hand and crossed my arms. 'He put Jesse under the Curse of Darkness so Jesse was all evil and then he made Jesse stab mew with the Ghost Hunter's Knife but I didn't die because I wasn't a ghost and then we went to Paul's apartment or whatever in hell and Jesse . . . Jesse,' I drew a quick breath, 'Jesse . . . raped me, and then we had to go to this other place to see this Keeper of Souls dude, who, might I add, is a bloody sleaze, and I stabbed him, and now, everything is screwed up all because of Paul and I'm dead!'  
  
I looked up, with the tears coming on heavy now, and saw that both Jesse and Father Dom looked bewildered.  
  
They looked at each other. 'I only caught a few words, how about you, Father Dominic,' shrugged Jesse.  
  
'Yes,' agreed Father Dom, and they both smiled a tiny bit.  
  
That did it. I totally exploded.  
  
'THIS IS NOT SOMETIHNG TO SMILE AT!' I roared at them, and I dematerialized promptly.  
  
'Susannah, don't!' was the last thing I heard . . .  
  
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The beach is a really great place to think. I was listening to the tide wash in and out. It made loud, crashing sounds that echoed gently in my ears. Dark clouds were drifting slowly across the sky, where the sun was rising to a dreary dawn. My feet didn't even make footprints in the sand as I walked slowly across the shoreline. I couldn't even begin to describe the way that I was feeling. It was like something was churning deep within me, that was so terribly sad, so much so that I wanted to kill myself, but I was already dead, which made it infinitely worse. There was nothing I could do. Sure, I could go on haunting my house, but seriously, what kind of future is that? It was only now that I could really relate to how Jesse had felt as a ghost.  
  
And now he was alive . . .  
  
Living my life, no less.  
  
Oh, I wasn't bitter. I mean, he'd been a ghost for a hundred and fifty or so years, he deserved to live, did he not? Then why did I feel so heart broken. No doubt he'd forget about me now. I mean, he probably wouldn't miss me if he moved out. I was going to be forgotten by everyone . . .  
  
That was when I got mad . . .  
  
I stopped walking along the shore. Shaking with fury, I seized a large shell from the sand, and hurled it into the water. It landed with a considerable splash.  
  
'Is this what I get?!' I yelled at the sky, as the sun began to rise, 'After all these years, I'm plagued by these stupid ghosts, and after a life of sixteen years, you make me one? Well, I'm sorry, God, but you really SUCK!' On the word, I screamed as loudly as I could for several heart grabbing seconds. Once my throat was hoarse, I collapsed on the sand, crying.  
  
I felt as though a candle in me had flickered and died, never to be rekindled again . . .  
  
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Jesse's POV  
  
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I watched her from afar, screaming and crying on the beach that she used to love so much. By then, the sun had cast a dull glow in the sky, and was starting to reflect along the still ocean. The calm after the storm.  
  
It was tearing me inside to know that I'd caused her so much pain. I loved her so much, and in this hell land we'd just come back from, apparently, I'd hurt her in ways that I don't think even she could forgive me for. I felt despicable.  
  
'Oh, Querida,' I said softly to her crying figure so far away, 'You are so young. You have your whole life to live. You have a sparkling spirit is being slowly destroyed. I can't let that happen. Oh, if I could give you this life back, I would. I want it more than anything to see you happy, because you are the only one I care about here. Oh, querida . . .'  
  
It was about then when I heard a gentle whooshing behind me. I turned around, and to my shock, I saw a faint white light that was intensifying gradually. I stood there, speechless.  
  
Then, a rich, holy voice sweetly sang out to me, casting me in a blissful spell.  
  
"Jesse, your love is pure and is very famous up here in the land of good, heaven. Because of this beautiful devotion to Susannah, we are offering you something that we want you to think about with great caution . . . Do you want to hear our proposal?"  
  
I stopped dead. 'Yes . . .' I breathed . . .  
  
"Well, we are willing to give Susannah her life back, but you will return to ghosthood, Jesse. Are you prepared to make this sacrifice? We all know about how desperately you've wanted life again to be with Susannah, but there are some things that were not meant to be. This, however, is where we get involved, for things that come in the future. If you decline our offer, you will possess all of Susannah's mediator powers, because there was much expected of her before this tragedy. But if you accept, everything will go back to how it was before. Maria Da Silva will not come back, but I am afraid that Paul Slater will. However, that is something you will have to live with. He is suffering at the moment past his worst nightmares, undergoing pain that he has never experienced. Which is stronger? Your love for Susannah, or your hate for Paul? Choose now . . .' I was blown away. This was big. I hadn't expected something like this to happen when I wished for Susannah's life. I mean, I immediately knew the answer; my dislike of Slater could not even be compared to my love for my querida. But . . . bringing Paul back . . . That would only cause Susannah pain, although, not as much as she was enduring now -  
  
'Done,' I said. 'Bring her back. I will be a ghost again.'  
  
I felt very hollow, and my voice was choking. It wasn't fair . . . I was alive, and so quickly, life had been robbed from me. but, this was for my amor, so there was no doubt what my decision was going to be.  
  
Nevertheless . . .  
  
"Yes, Jesse, it shall be done . . . Best of luck with your death. We are sorry."  
  
'I bet you are,' I said, as the light began to fade. I felt my life fade also, until I looked at my hands, and saw that they were transparent again. When the light had disappeared completely, I quickly searched across the shoreline for Susannah.  
  
No!  
  
She'd collapsed on the sand!  
  
'Susannah!' I ran over, shouting. Sand flew into my eyes, which mush have looked strange for any living witnesses, but my querida had fainted!  
  
'Susannah . . .' I scooped up her limp body. To my half delight, half disappointment, I saw that she was most definitely alive again. Her face was frozen in an expression of deep misery. I trickled a finger down her face, and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.  
  
And then I kissed her . . .  
  
It was a gentle kiss, forlorn and impulsive. Her eyes flickered, and opened slowly.  
  
'Jesse,' she whispered, and before I could say anything, she jerked up, managing to knock me in the head.  
  
'Jesu Cristo!' I cursed silently. I did not want to get on the wrong side of Susannah. Then, she got to her feet, looking horrified.  
  
'Jesse, you're d-'  
  
'Yes, querida,' I said, not looking at her, 'I'm dead.'  
  
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Susannah's POV  
  
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I blinked. What the hell was going on? I was dead last time I remembered, and now Jesse was too! We were both ghosts! We -  
  
Huh?!  
  
My eyes caught sight of my hands. They were no longer glowing in that spectral way that only ghosts can.  
  
Like, oh my God . . .  
  
I was ALIVE!  
  
I began breathing very fast, as I bubbled with ecstasy. I wasn't a ghost! I was going to talk to Gina and CeeCee and Adam and my parents and my stepbrothers again! I wasn't going to spend the rest of my existence being a lost spirit. I jumped in the air, screaming in joy. You have no idea how happy I felt. It was like having a favourite toy that you take for granted, and accepted as something that you'll always have, and then it is taken away from you. Then, just as you were beginning to mourn the loss of something that you had been so happy about, it was given back. When I was all yelled out, I turned to Jesse, and threw my arms around Jesse, hugging him with all my strength. His chin rested on the top of my head.  
  
'Oh, Jesse, I'm not dead! I'm . . . how though? I didn't know that you could be resurrected! This is like, totally freaky. What is going on? What hap-'  
  
I stopped babbling, as I suddenly realized exactly what had happened.  
  
'Oh, Jesse, you didn't,' I said, pulling away from him.  
  
He looked at me with an inscrutable expression. 'Querida, I had to.'  
  
I put my hand on my mouth. Oh crap! I couldn't believe what I'd done to him. In a hundred and fifty years, he'd never had life, and now, I had taken it away from him. Unbelievable . . .  
  
'No, you didn't. I would have gotten over it. I don't deserve life as much as you do,' I said. Why were my eyes so wet?  
  
He let out a growl of frustration. 'Susannah, you have a purpose. You are not here on this earth for show, there are things that must be done by you, and by you alone. I traded my life for yours, because of this. But mainly, of course, because I love you.'  
  
That took a few seconds to sink in. About half a minute later, I finally registered that he'd used the 'L' word! I wanted to say, 'Really?! Me too!' but all I could get out was a 'Jesse . . . ' Suppressed exhilaration brewed in me. Then, just as the sun was rising higher over the ocean line, casting vivid orange reflections on the crystal water, and shooting burning golden rays into the sky, lining the clouds, he seized me by the waist, pulled me against him almost roughly, and kissed me zealously. His hands gripped the small of my back, and somewhere around my shoulder blade as if he was holding onto a rope on the edge of a cliff. Oh, this was a dream. I had slipped into heaven, and I never wanted to fall from this cloud of rhapsody. He loved me. They say that actions speak louder than words. But voices can be very loud too.  
  
And right now, my ears were ringing . . .  
  
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Jesse's last POV  
  
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I had waited so long to do this.  
  
I probably should have told her about what I saw just then, but I didn't want anything to spoil the moment that my querida and I were sharing.  
  
But I still, by then, didn't know the full extent of what Paul Slater was capable of.  
  
I am a foolish man . . .  
  
**************************************************************************** ************* A/N:  
  
See? I'm all set up for a se3quel, so if you want to review and say some things that you would like included in the sequel, I would be so grateful, because I'm stuck for ideas. But before I write one, I'm going to probably write a different Mediator fanfic for some difference. Okay? So, REVIEW NOW OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE. And please tell me whether I did a bad or a good job, remembering that this is my 2nd fanfic. *Puppy eyes*  
  
Okay, until next time . . .  
  
Princess Roxanne and Katie.  
  
DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :) :) 


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